New tyrannosauroid from Mongolia - Khankhuuluu mongoliensis

[VD231991]

Links to articles:
https://www.sci.news/paleontology/khankhuuluu-mongoliensis-13982.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08964-6

Khankhuuluu mongoliensis is based on fossils assigned to Alectrosaurus by Perle (1977). However, Carr (2005) found the material described by Perle (1977) to differ from Alectrosaurus in a number of features, and the paper by Voris et al. confirms that Khankhuuluu is indeed its own thing.

Carr, T., 2005. Phylogeny of Tyrannosauroidea (Dinosauria: Coelurosauria) with special reference to North American forms. PhD thesis. University of Toronto. 1170 pp.

Perle, A., 1977. O pervoy nakhodke Alektrozavra (Tyrannosauridae, Theropoda) iz pozdnego Mela Mongolii [On the first discovery of Alectrosaurus (Tyrannosauridae, Theropoda) in the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia]. Shinzhlekh Ukhaany Akademi Geologiin Khureelen (in Russian). 3 (3): 104–113.

[Protopatch]

So proud to see that two Japanese paleontologists from Hokudai were involved in this new paper !
But unfortunately, it seems to be paywalled

The illustration provided by the University on their website is superb, we can see the Khankhuuluu in the foreground, Gorgosaurus on the right, Alioramus on the left and Tyrannosaurus in the background :



What a wonderful family

PS : @Halichoeres do you have access to the full paper in PDF version by any chance ?^^

[Protopatch]

If someone could share the full paper in PDF, it would be great !
In the meantime, I'm sharing the instructive phylogenetic tree that was included in the Hokudai press release :

[Halichoeres]

I was able to get the pdf. I'll send it your way, @Protopatch!

[Protopatch]

I was able to get the pdf. I'll send it your way, @Protopatch!

Many thanks, you are the Paper Master !
Reading in progress on my end thx

[DefinitelyNOTDilo]

For anyone who has been following Mongolian tyrannosaurs, this is the Bayan Shireh material formerly assigned to Alectrosaurus!

[Faelrin]

So I take it this means the BotM Alectrosaurus was mainly based on this specimen's material (give or take the legs and feet), back when it was assigned to or associated with Alectrosaurus?

What's interesting is that the hands on the skeletal depict a speculative three fingered hand like on that figure, as well as the restoration on wikipedia. Granted it looks like there's no material of the hands, so I suppose it could go either way with two or three?

[Protopatch]

What's interesting is that the hands on the skeletal depict a speculative three fingered hand like on that figure, as well as the restoration on wikipedia. Granted it looks like there's no material of the hands, so I suppose it could go either way with two or three?

Yeah, I assume that their illustration is biased in favor of a 3-fingered Tyrannosauroid, although this third digit could match the vestigial metacarpal typical of some Tyrannosaurids.

[Over9K]

Me: "Watchout... it's on the loose!"

Wife: *Sigh* "What is?"

Me: "Khan-koo-loo Mongo-lee-n-sissssssss!"

Wife: *Rolls Eyes*

[Trenchcoated Rebbachisaur]

The mental image of being hunted by a survival horror critter and your partner casually knows it's full scientific name, home address, and social security number is kinda hella morbidly funny though

[Protopatch]

Sorry, but I don't understand the joke here.

Cool paper anyway !