Zanabazar
- Lived
- 72 to 66 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Length
- about 2.3 m (8 ft)
- Group
- Theropods, Troodontidae
- Found in
- Mongolia
- Named by
- Norell et al. 2009
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical theropod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
70 million years ago
Habitat
Rivers crossed the land preserved in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Its neighbors included Tarbosaurus, Gallimimus and Deinocheirus.
Field notes
About Zanabazar
What it was like
Zanabazar was one of the largest troodontids, a feathered, big-eyed theropod about 2.3 meters (8 feet) long. It had a large brain for a dinosaur and long legs for running. It probably ate small animals and perhaps some plants.
Its world
It lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Mongolia. Its bones come from the Nemegt Formation, a land of rivers shared with the huge predator Tarbosaurus, the ostrich-like Gallimimus and the giant Deinocheirus.
How it was found
It was first named as a species of Saurornithoides. Norell and colleagues gave it its own genus in 2009. Its name honors a Mongolian religious leader.
Field gallery
More views of Zanabazar
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Zanabazar.
The evidence
The science behind Zanabazar
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The known skeleton includes a skull, part of the lower jaw, hip and tail vertebrae, part of the pelvis and the lower right hind leg.
- Its skull is larger than that of Saurornithoides, and details of the braincase distinguish the animals.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing arms and much of the body are restored using other troodontids, including Saurornithoides.
- A feather covering is inferred from feathered relatives such as Anchiornis.
Still unknown
- The arrangement and color of its feathers.
- How much of its diet came from plants.
- How its body changed as it grew.
Discovery timeline
- 2009Named itNorell et al.
- 2009Close relativeHu et al.
- 2013SkullBalanoff et al.
- 2015SkullBalanoff, Smaers & Turner
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Zanabazar
Named it
Compared the known skeletons and separated Zanabazar from Saurornithoides using differences in the skull and braincase.
A Review of the Mongolian Cretaceous Dinosaur Saurornithoides (Troodontidae: Theropoda). American Museum Novitates 3654: 1-63
Read the paper : A Review of the Mongolian Cretaceous Dinosaur Saurornithoides (Troodontidae: Theropoda) (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described extensive feathers in Anchiornis, supporting feathered restorations of related dinosaurs such as Zanabazar.
A pre-Archaeopteryx troodontid theropod from China with long feathers on the metatarsus. Nature 461: 640-643
Read the paper : A pre-Archaeopteryx troodontid theropod from China with long feathers on the metatarsus (opens in a new tab)Skull
Compared brain cavities across bird relatives and found that enlarged, bird-like brains evolved before modern birds.
Evolutionary origins of the avian brain. Nature 501: 93-96
Read the paper : Evolutionary origins of the avian brain (opens in a new tab)Skull
Compared brain regions in dinosaurs and birds, including Zanabazar, to test how their evolution related to flight.
Brain modularity across the theropod–bird transition: testing the influence of flight on neuroanatomical variation. Journal of Anatomy 229: 204-214
Read the paper : Brain modularity across the theropod–bird transition: testing the influence of flight on neuroanatomical variation (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Troodontidae
Sources: Wikidata