Minotaurasaurus
Name:
Minotaurasaurus
(Man bull lizard).
Phonetic: Mi-noe-tore-ah-sore-us.
Named By: Clifford A. Miles & Clark J.
Miles - 2009.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Ornithischia, Thyreophora, Ankylosauridae, Ankylosaurinae.
Species: M. ramachandrani
(type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Uncertain due to lack of remains.
Known locations: Mongolia, Gobi Desert -
Djadochta Formation.
Time period: Late Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Holotype is a skull, second
skull now also known.
Minotaurasaurus
was an Asian ankylosaurid dinosaur, presumably of the late
Cretaceous. However the skull that makes up the holotype of
Minotaurasaurus is more famous for the controversy
surrounding it.
The skull was purchased from a fossil dealer by Vilayanur S.
Ramachandran, who in turn allowed it to be studied by
palaeontologists. However at the time it was illegal to export
fossils from China (which includes Mongolia), and some have
pointed out that no documentation exists to prove it removed with
permission from the Chinese authorities. Ramachandran for his part
has stated that he does not mind handing the fossil over to the
relevant authorities, but only if it can be proven that the fossil
was indeed illegally taken.
In
2013 a second skull, axis and partial cervical vertebra of
Minotaurasaurus were described. These were
discovered in the Campanian
aged Djadochta (a.k.a. Djadokhta) Formation of the Gobi Desert.
Further reading
-Skull of Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani, a new
Cretaceous ankylosaur
from the Gobi Desert, Clifford A. Miles & Clark J.
Miles
- 2009.
- New Minotaurasaurus material from the Djodokta
Formation establishes
new taxonomic and stratigraphic criteria for the taxon. - Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology. Program and Abstracts: 76. - J. Alicea
& M. Loewen - 2013.
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