Gobivenator
Name:
Gobivenator
(Gobi hunter).
Phonetic: Go-bee-ven-ah-tore.
Named By: Takanobu Tsuihiji, Rinchen Barsbold,
Mahito Watabe, Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar, Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig,
Yoshito Fujiyama & Shigeru Suzuki - 2014.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Troodontidae.
Species: G. mongoliensis
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: 160 centimetres long.
Known locations: Mongolia, Djadochta Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete individual
lacking only rear limbs, lower fore limbs, some central vertebrae
and the tip of the snout.
Although
the holotype specimen of Gobivenator was missing
major bones of the
limbs, some vertebrae and the tip of the snout, it remains one of
the most complete late Cretaceous troodontid
dinosaurs known from late
Cretaceous Asia. Two areas that have been important to note during
the description are that the parietal bones are fused and there is a
fossa (hollow) on the suprangular, a bone at the back of the jaw
bone. At the time of the description of Gobivenator,
these features
have not been seen in other troodontids.
The
Gobivenator holotype was recovered from the
Djadochta Formation, also
often referred to as the flaming cliffs because of the colour of the
rocks when the sun shines on them. This fossil bearing formation lies
within the Gobi desert which was the inspiration for the name
Gobivenator which breaks down into English as
‘Gobi hunter’. The
type species name mongoliensis simply means ‘from Mongolia’,
though in the original Latin the word order is reversed.
Other
troodontids known from the Djadochta Formation include Byronosaurus
and
Saurornithoides,
while other famous dinosaur genera include
Oviraptor,
Protoceratops
and Velociraptor
are also known from the
formation. other animals that Gobivenator may
have lived alongside
include, alvaresaurs,
dromaeosaurs,
ankylosaurs,
oviraptosaurs
and possibly even tyrannosaurs.
Remains of crocodilomorphs, frogs,
lizards and early mammals are also known from here. These smaller
animals might have been the preferred prey of Gobivenator
due to its
smaller size.
Care should be taken not to confuse Gobivenator with the similarly named Gobisaurus.
Further reading
- An exquisitely preserved troodontid theropod with new information
on the palatal structure from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia -
Naturwissenschaften - Takanobu Tsuihiji, Rinchen Barsbold,
Mahito Watabe, Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar, Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig,
Yoshito Fujiyama & Shigeru Suzuki - 2014.
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