| Zanabazar Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma |
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|---|---|
| Life restoration of Zanabazar junior | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | Troodontidae |
| Genus: | Zanabazar Norell et al., 2009 |
| Species | |
Zanabazar is a genus of troodontid dinosaur, which lived during the Late Cretaceous period in Mongolia.
Fossils of this theropod have been found in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Originally classified as a new species of the genus Saurornithoides by Rinchen Barsbold in 1974, based on a small specimen thought to be more closely related to S. mongoliensis than to other troodonts, a 2009 review of the genus found that the support for this idea was lacking. Mark Norell and colleagues re-classified the species in the new genus Zanabazar, which they named in honor of Zanabazar, the first spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism in Outer Mongolia.[1]
Zanabazar is the largest known Asian troodontid, with a skull length of 272mm (10.7 inches). It is significantly larger than all other known troodontids except Troodon.[1]