Open Paleo

Kuru

Napoli et al., 2021 koo-roo /ˈkuruˈkʊlə/

Named for Kurukullā, a deity venerated in Tibetan Buddhism associated with major life transitions (explicitly not in reference to the prion disease of the same name).

83.6–66.0 million years ago Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Kuru kulla (, after Kurukullā, a Tibetan Buddhist deity) is an extinct species of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia. K. kulla is the only species in the genus Kuru, known from a fragmentary skeleton including a partial skull.

Diagnosis

  1. Deeply incised groove framing anterior and ventral margins of narial fossa on premaxilla
  2. Lacrimal with posterolateral hornlet arising from posterodorsal process
  3. Two posterior surangular foramina
  4. Proportionally deep surangular with dorsally facing muscle-attachment surface
  5. Anteriorly displaced pleurocoels on dorsal centra
  6. Hyposphenes widely separated and joined by web of bone

Species

Kuru kulla Napoli et al., 2021

Type species

Named for Kurukullā, a deity in Tibetan Buddhism associated with love and magic, reflecting the Mongolian and Tibetan cultural context of the fossil's discovery.

Holotype
IGM 100/981 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material
Fragmentary skeleton: right premaxilla, right lacrimal, partial right dentary, right surangular, 14 presacral vertebrae, three caudal vertebrae, forelimb fragments, fragmentary ilium, distal pubes, both femora, right tibia, foot fragments
Horizon
Baruungoyot Formation, Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Khulsan, Ömnögovi, Mongolia Napoli and colleagues (2021) conclude that "the Barun Goyot strata at Khulsan are Campanian to Maastrichtian in age".

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Airakoraptor nomen nudum Informal name for a dromaeosaurid taxon reported at a 1992 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference; the specimen was ultimately formally described as Kuru kulla.

References

  1. Napoli, J. G.; Ruebenstahl, A. A.; Bhullar, B. A. S.; Turner, A. H.; Norell, M. A. (2021). A New Dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Coelurosauria) from Khulsan, Central Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 2021(3982). American Museum of Natural History (BioOne sponsored). doi:10.1206/3982.1 napoli2021a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates, and the appearance features.

    jones2026c