Open Paleo

Borogovia

Osmólska, 1987 bor-o-GOH-vee-a

Named after the 'borogoves', the fantasy creatures in Lewis Carroll's poem 'Jabberwocky' from 'Through the Looking-Glass'.

72.2–66.0 million years ago Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Borogovia is a troodontid theropod dinosaur genus which lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, in what is now Mongolia. It contains one species, Borogovia gracilicrus.

Under dispute

Borogovia is known from lower hind-limb material and its position is unsettled. It is recovered within Troodontinae near Saurornithoides (Sellés and colleagues, 2021) or as the sister taxon to Troodontinae (Cau and Madzia, 2021), and has historically been suggested as a possible senior synonym of Zanabazar (Nemegt troodontids). It is placed in Troodontinae following the recent analyses.

Diagnosis

  1. Second pedal ungual nearly straight with a very weak flexor tuber, unlike the curved ungual in all other troodontids
  2. Phalanx II-2 extremely short, only about one-third the length of phalanx II-1
  3. Third toe markedly thinner and more slender than both the second and fourth toes
  4. Tibiotarsus exceptionally long and slender relative to pes size, exceeding proportions of all other known troodontids

Species

Borogovia gracilicrus Osmólska, 1987

Type species

From Latin, combining 'gracilis' meaning 'lightly built' and 'crus' meaning 'shin', in reference to the elegant build of the lower leg.

Holotype
ZPAL MgD-I/174 , Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences
Material
Fragments of hind limbs including incomplete left and right tibiotarsi; proximal fibula; left and right pes elements (metatarsals II-IV, digits II-IV with phalanges and unguals, variously complete)
Horizon
lower Nemegt Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Altan Uul IV, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

References

  1. Osmólska, H. (1987). Borogovia gracilicrus gen. et sp. n., a new troodontid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 32(1-2): 133-150. osmólska1987a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026c
  3. Cau, A.; Madzia, D. (2021). The phylogenetic affinities and morphological peculiarities of the bird-like dinosaur Borogovia gracilicrus from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. PeerJ 9: e12640. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.12640

    Reassessed Borogovia and recovered it as the sister taxon to Troodontinae.

    cau2021a
  4. Sellés, A. G.; Vila, B.; Brusatte, S. L.; Currie, P. J.; Galobart, À. (2021). A fast-growing basal troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the latest Cretaceous of Europe. Scientific Reports 11(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-83745-5

    Described basal troodontid with phylogeny recovering Borogovia within Troodontinae near Saurornithoides.

    sellés2021a