Mahakala
Name: Mahakala
(Named after one of the eight protector deities in Tibetan
Buddhism).
Phonetic: Mah-ha-kah-la.
Named By: Alan H. Turner, Diego Pol, Julia A.
Clarke, Gregory M. Erickson & Mark Norell - 2007.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Deinonychosauria, Dromaeosauridae.
Species: M. omnogovae
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated about 70 centimetres long.
Known locations: Mongolia - Djadokhta Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skeleton and partial
skull bones.
Named
in 2007, Mahakala has been widely accepted as one of the most
primitive formed dromaeosaurids
so far discovered. Key to this idea
is the observation that the third metatarsal is not compressed,
whereas in more advanced dromaeosaurids and troodonts it is. However
another fact to consider is that Mahakala lived
during the Campanian of
the Cretaceous, a time when dromaeosaurids had long been
established. This means that Mahakala was a late
surviving form that
co-existed with the development of more advanced forms, perhaps
specialising as a niche predator. This also does not disprove
evolutionary theory, as it should be remembered that evolutionary
processes only drive animals to change when there is a need too. When
there is no need, an animal’s evolution can slow down and even stop.
Currently
Mahakala is best known from the hind limbs and
anterior half of the
tail, but forelimb remains are also known and these are interesting
as they are proportionally much shorter than the arms of other
dromaeosaurids. These shorter limbs may or may not be another
primitive feature, they may have been an adaptation unique to the
genus. As mentioned above the small size of Mahakala
probably meant
that it was a specialised hunter of small animals such as lizards and
primitive mammals like Zalambdalestes,
perhaps even larger insects.
This meant that Mahakala did not directly compete
with its larger
relatives such as the dromaeosaurs Tsaagan
and the famous Velociraptor.
Further reading
- A basal dromaeosaurid and size evolution preceding avian flight.
- Science 317 (5843): 1378–1381. - Alan H. Turner,
Diego Pol, Julia A. Clarke, Gregory M. Erickson &
Mark Norell - 2007.
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