[D] Kol ghuva ~/~
Describer
Turner, Nesbitt & Norell 2009
Time
Cretaceous Late Campanian
Classification
Saurischia Theropoda Tetanurae Coelurosauria Maniraptora Avialae Alvarezsauridae
Diet
Carnivore
Fossilsite
Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia
Info
The alvarezsaurid, Kol ghuva, from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia that demonstrates that the clade was not restricted to small taxa (3–15 kg). The specimen was found at the Ukhaa Tolgod locality, which has previously produced only a single diminutive alvarezsaurid, Shuvuuia deserti. Although known only from a well-preserved right foot, the new taxon is diagnosable by the following combination of characters: extensor grooves on digit IV phalanges; robust flexor tubercle on pedal unguals; MT III does not reach ankle; accessory dorsomedial flange absent on the medial side of the distal end of the MT II; MT II shorter than MT IV; and MT III extends higher proximally than other alvarezsaurids (more than ½ total metatarsus length). The new taxon provides additional insight into the diversity of this clade and the dinosaurian assemblage of Ukhaa Tolgod
Holotype
IGM 100/2011. Complete pes including an indeterminate distal tarsal, metatarsals I, II, III, IV with a complete complement of pedal digits and a partial metatarsal V.
Etymology
From Mongolian köl, ‘‘foot’’ + ghuv-a, ‘‘beautiful’’
Locality
UkhaaTolgod.Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia (Dashzeveg et al., 1995). Within the Ankylosaur Flats locality (Dingus et al., 2008), IGM 100/2011 was found at the Big Mamma sublocality.
Diagnosis
This alvarezsaurid is diagnosed by the following unique combination of characters: extensor grooves on digit IV phalanges; robust flexor tubercle on pedal unguals; MT III does not reach ankle; accessory dorsomedial flange absent on the medial side of the distal end of the MT II; MT II shorter than MT IV; MT III extends higher up the metatarsus than other alvarezsaurids (greater than K metatarsus length).