Gobivenator

''Gobivenator'' is an extinct genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur known from the late Campanian Djadokhta Formation of central Gobi Desert, Mongolia. It contains a single species, ''Gobivenator mongoliensis''. ''G. mongoliensis'' is known from a single individual, which represents the most complete specimen of a Late Cretaceous troodontid currently known.

Discovery

''Gobivenator'' was first described and named by Takanobu Tsuihiji, Rinchen Barsbold, Mahito Watabe, Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar, Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig, Yoshito Fujiyama and Shigeru Suzuki in 2014 and the type species is ''Gobivenator mongoliensis''. The generic name is derived from the name of the Gobi Desert, where the holotype was found, and ''venator'' meaning "hunter" in Latin. The specific name refers to its occurrence in Mongolia, as the Latin suffix ''-ensis'' means "from".

''Gobivenator'' is known solely from the holotype MPC-D 100/86, a nearly complete and articulated skeleton including the skull, housed at the Mongolian Paleontological Center at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The skull of MPC-D 100/86 is mostly undistorted and well preserved, lacking only the tip of the snout, while the rest of the skeleton is missing only middle cervical vertebrae, forelimb bones located lower than the elbow joints, some hindlimb bones, and most gastralia. It was discovered by a Japanese-Mongolian expedition, and represents the most complete specimen of a Late Cretaceous troodontid presently known. Additionally, unlike most troodontid fossils, MPC-D 100/86 is fully articulated and three-dimensionally preserved. It was collected from the Dzamin Khond locality of the Djadokhta Formation in the central Gobi Desert, dating to the late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, approximately 72 million years ago.

Description

''Gobivenator'' was a small theropod, measuring long and weighing . It belongs to the family Troodontidae, a group of small, bird-like, gracile maniraptorans. All troodontids have many unique features of the skull, such as closely spaced teeth in the lower jaw, and large numbers of teeth. Troodontids have sickle-claws and raptorial hands, and some of the highest non- avian encephalization quotients, meaning they were behaviourally advanced and had keen senses. ''Gobivenator'' possesses two autapomorphies, unique traits, that differentiate it from all other currently known troodontids. The parietal bones are fused with a pointed anterior end, and a fossa is present on the surangular of the lower jaw, in front of the rear surangular foramen. Two other traits are possible autapomorphies: the gracile build of the three postorbital branches and the elongation of the upper chevrons. The skull of ''Gobivenator'' is very well preserved, and shows an enlarged maxillary fenestra and an anterior process of the lacrimal which is much longer than the supraorbital process, features that are typical among troodontids. ''Gobivenator'' provides detailed information on many aspects of the poorly-understood anatomy of Troodontidae, including the morphology of the palate, supporting close relations with the dromaeosaurids and basal birds, like ''Archaeopteryx''. It appears that toward the basal Avialae the pterygoid bone of the palatine becomes more elongated, while the pterygopalatine suture becomes reduced. Even though the skull of ''Gobivenator'' is akinetic, it already possesses preconditions for later evolution of cranial kinesis in birds, like the loss of the epipterygoid bone and a reduced contact areas between palate bones.

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic position of ''Gobivenator'' was explored by Tsuihiji ''et al.'' (2014) using the data matrix published by Gao ''et al.'' (2012), a slightly modified version of Xu ''et al.'' (2011) analysis. The resultant matrix includes 91 coelurosaurs and outgroup taxa which are scored based on 363 morphological traits. ''Gobivenator'' was recovered as an advanced troodontid, closely related to other Late Cretaceous troodontids, such as ''Saurornithoides'' and ''Zanabazar'' from Mongolia, and ''Troodon'' from North America. The cladogram below shows the phylogenetic position of ''Gobivenator'' among the Troodontidae following this analysis.

A 2024 study on '' Hypnovenator'' recovered ''Gobivenator'' as a basal member of the Troodontinae, as its sister taxon.

See also

* Timeline of troodontid research

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15632468

Troodontidae
Dinosaur genera
Campanian dinosaurs
Djadochta Formation
Fossil taxa described in 2014
Taxa named by Rinchen Barsbold
Dinosaurs of Mongolia