Name:
Bagaraatan (Mongolian for "small hunter"); pronounced BAH-gah-rah-TAHN
Habitat:
Woodlands of central Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 10 feet long and 500 pounds
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Bipedal posture; possibly feathers
About Bagaraatan:
The late Cretaceous period witnessed a perplexing array of small theropod dinosaurs, including raptors, tyrannosaurs and feathered "dino-birds." Based on the fragmentary remains of a single juvenile, unearthed in Mongolia, at least one influential paleontologist has classified Bagaraatan as a tyrannosaur, though others insist this smallish predator was more closely related to the non-tyrannosaur theropod Troodon. As with so many other obscure dinosaurs, the definitive answer awaits further fossil discoveries.
