Bagaraatan

Bagaraatan Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Mandible
Caudal vertebra
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Clade:	Coelurosauria
Genus:	†Bagaraatan Osmolska, 1996
Type species
†Bagaraatan ostromi Osmolska, 1996

1996 outline showing known elements

Bagaraatan (meaning "small hunter" in Mongolian) was a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossils were found in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Bagaraatan may have been around 3–4 metres in length.

The type species, B. ostromi, was described by Osmolska in 1996. The post-cranial (ZPAL MgD-I/108) skeleton has been described as "bird-like", while the skull exhibits features of several different theropod groups.

Classification

Holtz classified Bagaraatan as a basal tyrannosauroid, Coria identified it as a troodontid, and Rauhut placed it in Maniraptora. Mark Loewen et al. placed it in basal tyrannosauroidea, agreeing with the placement by Holtz.^[1]

Below is the cladogram by Loewen et al. in 2013.^[1]

Tyrannosauroidea	Proceratosauridae Proceratosaurus bradleyi Kileskus aristotocus Guanlong wucaii Sinotyrannus kazuoensis Juratyrant langhami Stokesosaurus clevelandi Dilong paradoxus Eotyrannus lengi Bagaraatan ostromi Raptorex kriegsteini Dryptosaurus aquilunguis Alectrosaurus olseni Xiongguanlong baimoensis Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis Alioramus altai Alioramus remotus Tyrannosauridae

References

1. Loewen, M.A.; Irmis, R.B.; Sertich, J.J.W.; Currie, P. J.; Sampson, S. D. (2013). Evans, David C, ed. "Tyrant Dinosaur Evolution Tracks the Rise and Fall of Late Cretaceous Oceans". PLoS ONE. 8 (11): e79420. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079420.

Sources

• Osmolska, H. (1996). "An unusual theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 41; 1-38

External links

• Dinosaur Mailing List entry which discusses the genus