Adasaurus

Ay-dah-sore-us.
Published on

Emily Green

Paleobotanist

Emily Green brings the ancient world of plants to life through her insightful research and engaging writing. Her expertise lies in examining how prehistoric vegetation influenced climate patterns and animal evolution.

Cite Feedback Print

Name

Adasaurus ‭(‬Ada’s lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ay-dah-sore-us.

Named By

Rinchen Barsbold‭ ‬-‭ ‬1983.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Dromaeosauridae,‭ Velociraptorinae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬mongoliensis

Size

Holotype originally estimated to be around 2-2.4 meters in length, A second referred specimen suggests that this dinosaur may have atrually approached 3.5 meters in length

Known locations

Mongolia,‭ ‬Bayankhongor Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Nemegt Formation.

Time Period

Late‭ (‬late Campanian to early Maastrichtian‭) Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Initially based upon the description of a partial skull and incomplete post cranial skeleton of single dinosaur,‭ ‬a second partial skeleton has now been described for the genus.

In Depth

       Adasaurus is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous.‭ ‬Like with its relatives,‭ ‬Adasaurus was a hunter of other animals,‭ ‬quite possibly including other dinosaurs.‭ ‬The primary killing weapons for Adasaurus would have been the two enlarged sickle claws on its feet,‭ ‬which may have been used to jab at prey.‭ However, while enlarged, the sickle claws of Adasaurus seem to have been smaller than those of some relative dinosaur genera. ‬Although not confirmed,‭ ‬because Adasaurus is a dromaeosaurid dinosaur,‭ ‬it is expected to have had at‭ ‬least some feathers present on the body in life.

       Adasaurus was named after an evil spirit called Ada which appears in Mongolian mythology.‭ ‬The species name mongoliensis simply means‭ ‘‬From Mongolia‭’‬.‭ ‬Adasaurus is one of many dinosaurs recovered from the world famous Nemegt Formation,‭ ‬which also holds other notable dinosaur genera such as Alioramus,‭ ‬Gallimimus,‭ ‬Avimimus,‭ ‬Therizinosaurus and Tarbosaurus amongst an ever increasing number of discovered dinosaurs.

Further Reading

Carnivorous dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. -‭ ‬Rinchen Barsbold‭ ‬-‭ ‬1983. – Reexamination of Adasaurus mongoliensis (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (supp. 03): 88A. – K. Kubota & R. Barsbold – 2006.

Never Miss a New Species or Fossil Discovery!

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Pteranodon