Open Paleo

Shri

Turner et al., 2021 shree /ʃriː/

Named after Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi), a Buddhist deity.

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

Shri is an extinct genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous.

Diagnosis

  1. Epipophysis on first dorsal vertebra large and overhanging posterior margin of postzygapophysis
  2. Two dorsoventrally aligned pleurocoels on first and second dorsal vertebrae
  3. Posteriorly inclined scar on lateral surface of neural arch
  4. Proportionally longer metatarsus (44% femur length)
  5. Proportionally larger ungual phalanx on pedal digit 2 (1.01% MT II length)
  6. Prominence of neurocentral sutures on dorsal vertebrae marked by raised rugose scar

Species (2)

Shri devi Turner et al., 2021

Type species

Named for Palden Lhamo, or Shri devi, a Vajrayana Buddhist dharmapala who appears in various forms.

Holotype
IGM 100/980 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material
Partial articulated skeleton with 23 presacral vertebrae, pelvis, anterior caudal vertebrae, right hind limb, left tibiotarsus
Horizon
Baruungoyot Formation, Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Khulsan, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

Shri rapax Moutrille et al., 2025

From Latin rapax, meaning rapacious; refers to the hypertrophied falciform pollex ungual.

Holotype
MPC-D 102/117 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material
Almost complete articulated skeleton with skull, vertebral series with ribs, both sternal plates, complete gastral series, left scapula, both coracoids, furcula, complete right forelimb and manus, complete pelvis, partial femora
Notes
The skull and first four cervical vertebrae were separated from the specimen and are now lost; they are known from a 2016 scan, a cast of which accompanies the specimen. The exact locality is unknown because the specimen was poached and passed through private hands before its return to Mongolia, and referral to Ukhaa Tolgod rests on the associated documentation and on sediment matching the structureless sandstone facies of that locality; another Djadokhtan locality such as Bayan Zag cannot be excluded.
Horizon
Bayn Dzak Member, Djadokhta Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
Ukhaa Tolgod, Ömnögovi, Mongolia Moutrille and colleagues (2025) state that "the exact locality of the specimen is unknown" and refer it to Ukhaa Tolgod tentatively, from documentation accompanying the specimen rather than from field data; they name Bayan Zag as an alternative Djadokhtan locality it may have come from.
Diagnosis
  1. Middle cervical centra subequal in length (fifth centrum 125% longer than the sixth in S. devi)
  2. Accessory pleurocoel in the last cervical centrum (absent in S. devi)
  3. Epipophyses not extended onto the dorsal vertebrae (extending onto the anteriormost dorsals in S. devi)
  4. First metacarpal and first digit very robust, much broader than the combined second and third manual digits, a condition unique among paravians
  5. Falciform manual ungual 1 more than 160% longer along its dorsal margin than manual phalanx 1-I, proportionally the largest of any dromaeosaurid
  6. Pubis forming a 135 degree angle with the long axis of the ilium (155-160 degrees in S. devi)
  7. Ischium elongate, 66% of pubis length (about 50% in S. devi), and lacking the ischial tuber distal to the pubic peduncle present in S. devi

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Ichabodcraniosaurus nomen nudum Informal nickname given by Mark Norell for the specimen later formally described as Shri devi.

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

    Dates the Barun Goyot strata at Khulsan "Campanian to Maastrichtian".

    napoli2021a
  2. Turner, A. H.; Montanari, S.; Norell, M. A. (2021). A New Dromaeosaurid from the Late Cretaceous Khulsan Locality of Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 2020(3965): 1-46. American Museum of Natural History (BioOne sponsored). doi:10.1206/3965.1 turner2021a
  3. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Predatory Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the appearance features.

    paul2024b
  4. Moutrille, L.; Cau, A.; Chinzorig, T.; Escuillié, F.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Ganzorig, B.; Mallet, C.; Godefroit, P. (2025). A new bird-like dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia with extremely robust hands supports niche partitioning among velociraptorines. Historical Biology 38(6): 1987-2018. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2530148 moutrille2025a