Almas

Pei et al., 2017 al-mass

From Mongolian 'almas', a 'wild man'-like creature in Mongolian folklore.

83.6–72.2 million years ago Campanian, Late Cretaceous

Late Cretaceous stages

Almas is a genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. It contains a single species, Almas ukhaa, named in 2017 by Pei Rui and colleagues, based on a partial articulated skeleton. The only known specimen was found in the Djadokhta Formation, which is late Campanian in age.

Under dispute

Almas is recovered as the earliest-diverging member of a Late Cretaceous troodontid clade (Pei and colleagues, 2017, 2022) and as one node closer to Troodontinae than Sinovenatorinae by Hartman and colleagues (2019); some earlier analyses placed it in Jinfengopteryginae (Turner and colleagues, 2012). It is placed at Troodontidae incertae sedis pending resolution.

Diagnosis

Posteriorly curved pterygoid flange
Absence of a lateral groove on the anterior part of the dentary
Distinct spike-like process extending from the anterior edge of the obturator process at the distal one-third of the ischium
Third chevron more than three times as long as the corresponding caudal vertebra

Species

Almas ukhaa Pei et al., 2017

Type species

Named for the locality of Ukhaa Tolgod in Mongolia, discovered in 1993, where the holotype specimen was collected.

Holotype: IGM 100/1323 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material: Nearly complete and articulated cranium (skull and mandible) with partial articulated postcranial skeleton including sacral and proximal caudal vertebrae, partial pelvic girdle, and partial hind limbs
Horizon: Bayn Dzak Member, Djadokhta Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality: Ukhaa Tolgod, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

References

Pei, R.; Norell, M. A.; Barta, D. E.; Bever, G. S.; Pittman, M.; Xu, X. (2017). Osteology of a New Late Cretaceous Troodontid Specimen from Ukhaa Tolgod, Ömnögovi Aimag, Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 3889(3889): 1-47. American Museum of Natural History (BioOne sponsored). doi:10.1206/3889.1 pei2017a
Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.
Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates.
jones2026c
Hartman, S.; Mortimer, M.; Wahl, W. R.; Lomax, D. R.; Lippincott, J.; Lovelace, D. M. (2019). A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight. PeerJ 7: e7247. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247
Recovered Almas one node closer to Troodontinae than Sinovenatorinae.
hartman2019a
Turner, A. H.; Makovicky, P. J.; Norell, M. A. (2012). A Review of Dromaeosaurid Systematics and Paravian Phylogeny. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 371: 1-206. doi:10.1206/748.1
Earlier placed Almas in Jinfengopteryginae.
turner2012a