Shanag

Say it like this: “sha-nag”

Shanag ashile

Shanag ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Mongolia.

Quiz me on Shanag

When: Early Cretaceous (Berriasian–Barremian) · roughly 143.1 to 121.4 million years ago
Named in: 2007 · Turner, A. H.; Hwang, S. H.; Norell, M. A.
Hip height: 0.3 m · 1 ft
Length: 1.5 m · 5 ft
Weight: 5 kg · 11 lb
Found in: Mongolia · Öösh
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Dromaeosauridae

The story in short

Shanag was formally named in 2007 by A. H. Turner and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Shanag date to the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian–Barremian), roughly 143.1 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from Mongolia, including the Öösh Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Shanag at a length near 1.5 m, hips about 0.3 m high, and a body mass around 5 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Dromaeosauridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Asiamericana

Asiamericana asiatica

Late Cretaceous (Turonian · Coniacian) · roughly 93.9 to 85.7 million years ago

Balaur

Balaur bondoc

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago

Dakotaraptor

Dakotaraptor steini

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago