Open Paleo

Urbacodon

Averianov & Sues, 2007 urb-ah-ko-don

Named after URBAC (an acronym honoring Uzbek, Russian, British, American, and Canadian scientists who collaborated on Central Asian paleontological expeditions), combined with Greek odon meaning 'tooth'

100.5–93.9 million years ago Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Urbacodon is a genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur. Two species have been described, both of which are known from a partial dentary: U. itemirensis from the Dzharakuduk Formation (Cenomanian) of Uzbekistan and U. norelli from the Iren Dabasu Formation of China. Possible remains are also known from the Bissekty Formation (Turonian) of Uzbekistan.

Under dispute

Urbacodon is a fragmentary troodontid known mainly from a dentary. It has been recovered as a derived troodontine near Zanabazar (Hartman and colleagues, 2019; Wang and colleagues, 2024), where it is placed, while Cau and Madzia (2021) find it a wildcard within Troodontidae.

Diagnosis

  1. Unserrated mesial and distal carinae on all teeth, absence of serrations on teeth carinae
  2. Dentary with 32 teeth arranged with diastema in posterior tooth row, more plesiomorphic than Troodon and Saurornithoides
  3. Fewer neurovascular foramina in lateral groove and more bulbous anterior dentary crowns than Byronosaurus
  4. Much larger size than Mei, distinguished by overall skeletal proportions
  5. Distinct paradental groove structure unique among troodontids: deep cleft lingual to tooth row with narrow dorsal groove along dentary surface

Species

Urbacodon itemirensis Averianov & Sues, 2007

Type species

Named for Itemir, the locality in Uzbekistan where the holotype was discovered.

Holotype
ZIN PH 944/16 , Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences
Material
Left dentary, 79.2 mm long, with 32 tooth alveoli in two series separated by a diastema
Horizon
Dzharakuduk Formation, Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous , 100.5–93.9 million years ago
Locality
IT-01, Itemir, Navoiy, Uzbekistan

References

  1. Averianov, A. O.; Sues, H. D. (2007). A new troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Cenomanian of Uzbekistan, with a review of troodontid records from the territories of the former Soviet Union. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(1): 87-98. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[87:antdtf]2.0.co;2 averianov2007a
  2. 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

    New paravian phylogenetic analysis recovered Urbacodon as a derived troodontine near Zanabazar.

    hartman2019a
  3. Wang, S.; Ding, N.; Tan, Q.; Yang, R.; Zhang, Q.; Tan, L. (2024). A new Urbacodon (Theropoda, Troodontidae) from the Upper Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation, China: Implications for troodontid phylogeny and tooth biology. Cladistics 41(1): 104-134. doi:10.1111/cla.12592

    Described a new Urbacodon specimen from the Upper Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation

    wang2024a
  4. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Treats Urbacodon's placement as indeterminate.

    jones2026c
  5. 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

    Found Urbacodon a wildcard within Troodontidae.

    cau2021a