Open Paleo

Khankhuuluu

Voris et al., 2025 khahn-KOO-loo /xɑːnˈxuːluː/

From Mongolian 'khan' (prince or lord) and 'khuuluu' (dragon); meaning 'dragon prince'

93.9–83.6 million years ago Turonian–Santonian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Khankhuuluu is an extinct genus of early tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of what is now the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. The genus contains a single species, Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, known from several skull bones and two partial skeletons, including shoulder, pelvic, and hindlimb bones, and several vertebrae from the back and tail. The remains were discovered in 1972 and 1973 and first described in 1977 as belonging to the Chinese Alectrosaurus. Later researchers recognized the uniqueness of the bones, and they were eventually named as belonging to a new species in 2025. Khankhuuluu is a medium-sized tyrannosauroid with a shallow skull and long, slender legs. Its skeleton demonstrates a unique combination of anatomical traits seen in both earlier-diverging (basal) tyrannosauroids and the later-diverging (derived) tyrannosaurids.

Diagnosis

  1. Shallow, rugose midline ridge on the nasal extending along most of the length of the vaulted region of bone
  2. Small nasal pneumatic recess at the anterior end of the lacrimal-nasal contact
  3. Nasal with supernumerary processes for frontal contact but lacking the medial frontal process
  4. Medial margin of dorsal contact surface between quadratojugal and quadrate situated lateral to the medial edge of the quadrate foramen
  5. Deep subacromial depression on the lateral surface of the scapula
  6. Subglenoid fossa of the coracoid subdivided into two fossae (lateral and ventral) separated by a ventrolateral ridge

Species

Khankhuuluu mongoliensis Voris et al., 2025

Type species

Named for Mongolia, the country where the fossil material was discovered.

Holotype
MPC-D 100/50 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material
Partial skeleton including cranial bones, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, furcula, left scapulocoracoid, and left metatarsal III
Horizon
upper Bayanshiree Formation, Turonian–Santonian, Late Cretaceous , 93.9–83.6 million years ago
Locality
Baishin Tsav, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

References

  1. Voris, J. T.; Zelenitsky, D. K.; Kobayashi, Y.; Modesto, S. P.; Therrien, F.; Tsutsumi, H.; Chinzorig, T.; Tsogtbaatar, K. (2025). A new Mongolian tyrannosauroid and the evolution of Eutyrannosauria. Nature 642(8069): 973-979. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08964-6 voris2025a
  2. Tsogtbaatar, K.; Weishampel, D. B.; Evans, D. C.; Watabe, M. (2019). A new hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous Baynshire Formation of the Gobi Desert (Mongolia). PLOS ONE 14(4): e0208480. Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0208480

    Gives the province for the holotype locality, listing "Bayshin Tsav (South Gobi Aimag)" among the Bayanshiree Formation sites.

    tsogtbaatar2019a