Chinese paleontologists announced the discovery of a new dinosaur with a unique butterfly-shaped neural arch of the anteriormost dorsal vertebrae, which makes it distinguishable from other troodontids.

The research team found its holotype in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The holotype consists of a nearly complete cranium, with a total length of 12 cm and fragmentary postcranial bones. Its body length reaches 1 m.

Pei Rui, the researcher with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the dinosaur, living in the upper Cretaceous period about 83 million to 70 million years ago, was in the subadult stage, which is the key time for both individual development and population evolution.

The discovery is important for the study on biodiversity of land-living creatures and paleoenvironmental change in Northeast Asia in the Late Cretaceous, Pei added.

The online version of the discovery was published on "Cretaceous Research" in October.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105052