| Borogovia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leg bones of the holotype | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Troodontidae |
| Genus: | †Borogovia Osmólska, 1987 |
| Type species | |
| †Borogovia gracilicrus Osmólska, 1987 | |
Borogovia is atroodontidtheropoddinosaurgenus which lived during the LateCretaceousPeriod, in what is nowMongolia. It contains one species,Borogovia gracilicrus.
In 1971, a Polish-Mongolian expedition discovered the remains of a small theropod at the Altan Uul IV site, in theNemegt Basin ofÖmnögovĭ province. In 1982, upon describingHulsanpes perlei, the find was reported byHalszka Osmólska and considered by her to be a possible specimen ofSaurornithoides.[1] Later she concluded that it represented a species new to science.
In 1987, Osmólska named and described thetype speciesBorogovia gracilicrus. The generic name is derived from the fantasy creatures known as 'borogoves' in theLewis Carroll poem "Jabberwocky" inThrough the Looking-Glass. Thespecific name is a combination ofLatingracilis, "lightly built", andcrus, "shin", in reference to the elegant build of the lower leg.[2]
Theholotype specimen,ZPAL MgD-I/174, was found in theNemegt Formation, dating from the earlyMaastrichtian. It consists of two lower legs of a single individual, including fragments of both tibiotarsi, the undersides of both metatarsi, and the second, third, and fourth toes of each foot.[2]
The tibiotarsi have an estimated length of twenty-eight centimetres.Borogovia is about two meters (6 feet) long, weighing some twenty kilograms (forty-five pounds). The tibiotarsus is very elongated. The third toe is narrow. The second phalanx of the second toe is short. The claw of the second toe is short and relatively flat. Osmólska claimed that the second toe could not be hyperextended and suggested that it had regained a weight-bearing function, compensating for the weakness of the third toe.[2] In 2021,Andrea Cau and Daniel Madzia have called this the "falchiporan condition".[3]
Osmólska (1987) assignedBorogovia to theTroodontidae in 1987, noting that it may be ajunior synonym ofSaurornithoides.[2] In the 2021 description ofTamarro, Sellés et al. recoveredBorogovia as a member of theTroodontinae, closely related toSaurornithoides.[4] Later in 2021, Cau and Madzia revised material ofBorogovia and recovered it as asister taxon to Troodontinae.[3]
Sellés et al., 2021[4] | Cau & Madzia, 2021[3]
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