Ulughbegsaurus

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Ulughbegsaurus
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Holotype specimen, showing initial interpretation as a carcharodontosaurian maxilla
Holotype specimen, showing initial interpretation as a carcharodontosaurian maxilla
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Avetheropoda
Genus: †Ulughbegsaurus
Tanaka et al., 2021
Type species
†Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis
Tanaka et al., 2021

Ulughbegsaurus (meaning "

theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous aged Bissekty Formation, Uzbekistan.[1] The type species is Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis.[2]

Discovery and naming

Ulughbegsaurus was initially discovered within the

dromaeosaurid Itemirus and ZIN PH 357/16, the posterior end of a right maxilla.[2]

Isolated

carcharodontosaurian morphology, suggesting they may belong to Ulughbegsaurus or possibly another genus of carcharodontosaurian.[2]

The genus and species was later named in 2021 by Tanaka et al., honouring the 15th century Timurid sultan and scientist Ulugh Beg and the country of its discovery.[1][2]

Description

The body length of Ulughbegsaurus is estimated at 7.5–8 metres (25–26 ft) and its body mass at over 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb).[2]

Classification

Tanaka et al. ran two phylogenetic analyses using two different datasets to determine the relationships of Ulughbegsaurus. The first placed it in a

megaraptorans, while the second placed it in a polytomy including other basal carcharodontosaurians; megaraptorans were instead recovered as members of the Tyrannosauroidea
.

Both analyses are shown below:[2]

However, a later 2022 study suggested that the taxon was a

dromaeosaurid instead.[3]

Paleoecology

Ulughbegsaurus coexisted in the Bissekty Formation environment alongside other carnivorous theropods, including the tyrannosauroid Timurlengia and the dromaeosaurid Itemirus.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ a b Rieger, Sarah (7 September 2021). "Newly discovered dinosaur predated tyrannosaurs — and at the time was a bigger apex predator". CBC News. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  2. ^
    PMID 34527277
    .
  3. ISSN 0016-7568
    .
  4. ^ Black, Riley. "New, Giant Carnivorous Dinosaur Was a Terror to Smaller Tyrannosaurs". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
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