Name:
Tsaagan (Mongolian for "white monster"); pronounced tzah-GAHN
Habitat:
Plains of Central Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 4 feet long and 25 pounds
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small size; long, narrow jaws
About Tsaagan:
A contemporary of the more famous Velociraptor, Tsaagan had some distinctly primitive features for a member of the raptor family, most of them involving its narrow skull and jaws. We don't yet know much about this (probably feathered) theropod, but some experts think Tsaagan may have inhabited an ecological niche similar to that of modern vultures, scavenging its meat from already-dead carcasses.
