| Zanabazar junior | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeletal restoration of IGM 100/1 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Troodontidae |
| Subfamily: | †Troodontinae |
| Genus: | †Zanabazar Norellet al.,2009 |
| Species: | †Z. junior |
| Binomial name | |
| †Zanabazar junior | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Zanabazar is agenus of largetroodontiddinosaurs from theLate Cretaceous ofMongolia. The genus was originally named byRinchen Barsbold as the new speciesSaurornithoides junior. In 2009 it was reclassified as its own genus and species,Zanabazar junior, named afterZanabazar, the first spiritual figurehead ofTibetan Buddhism in Mongolia.[1] Theholotype includes askull,vertebrae, and righthindlimb.Zanabazar was one of the largest and mostderived troodontids.
The holotype was discovered in 1964 from the Bügiin Tsav locality of theNemegt Formation and initially described byRinchen Barsbold as a new species ofSaurornithoides (S. junior) in 1974. This specimen,IGM 100/1, includes a nearly completeskull andbraincase, part of thepelvis, some tailvertebrae, and parts of the righthindlimb.[2] In 2009 a review of the genus found that the support forS. junior in the same genus asS. mongoliensis was lacking.Mark Norell and colleagues re-classified the species in the new genusZanabazar, which they named in honor ofZanabazar, the first spiritual head (Bogd Gegen) ofTibetan Buddhism in Outer Mongolia.[1]
Zanabazar were large troodontids reaching 2.3 m (7.5 ft) in length and weighing 25 kg (55 lb).[3] They are the largest known Asian troodontids, with a skull length of 27.2 cm (272 mm). At the time of the discovery of the genus, the only other troodontids that appeared to be larger than it were specimens from Alaska,[1] however,Latenivenatrix are now considered the largest troodontids with 3.5 m (11 ft) in length.[4] The preserved vertebrae in IGM 100/1 are completely fused, indicating that this individual was an adult at the time of death.[1]
While originally included inSaurornithoides, within thefamilySaurornithoididae,[2]Zanabazar is now thought to be a derived member of Troodontidae.[1]
Thecladogram below shows the phylogenetic position ofZanabazar among other troodontids following a 2014 analysis.[5]
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
