Welcome to Adasaurus
Name Definition
Ada lizard
Name Given By
Rinchen Barsbold in 1983
Location
Nemegt Formation in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia
Classification
Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda, Maniraptora, Dromaeosauridae, Eudromaeosauria, Velociraptorinae
Size
about 1.5 feet tall (0.5 meters tall) ; the holotype is 6.2 feet long (1.9 meters long), but the second specimen is bigger at about 2.4 meters long (7.9 ft) ; about 36.4 kg (80 lbs)
Temporal Range
Maastrichtian stage of the late Cretaceous, about 70 - 68 million years ago
Ecological niche
small predator
Species/Sub Species
A. mongoliensis
Diet
to take down smaller prey, Adasaurus would have pinned down the prey with its sickle toe digit and start feeding on the live prey till it died of blood loss or organ failure
Introduction
Adasaurus is a genus of velociraptorine dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that lived in Mongolia during the late Cretaceous. Adasaurus is named after an evil spirit in Mongolian mythology called Ada. The species name mongoliensis (which is also the type species name of Velociraptor) just means “from Mongolia”. Adasaurus was on the lower spectrum of size for a dromaeosaurid at only about 2 meters long. It was originally placed in the subfamily Dromaeosaurinae, meaning that it is closely related to dromaeosaurids like Deinonychus and Itemirus. Dromaeosaurines usually have a more robust build and deeper skulls, however, closer examination actually helped scientists place it in the Velociraptorinae, meaning it was related to Velociraptor more than Dromaeosaurus. The velociraptorines, on the other hand, have a much lighter build and more slender skull shape compared to the dromaeosaurines. While there is no direct evidence (like its relatives), Adasaurus is speculated to have been covered in feathers since dromaeosaurs are well known for being bird-like dinosaurs. Adasaurus is also speculated to have used the same hunting method for smaller animals where (like modern acciptrid birds of prey) it pinned down prey with its sickle claw on its foot while also holding it down with its body weight. They would then start feeding on the animal alive until it dies of blood loss. Adasaurus would have lived with many other genera of dinosaurs including oviraptorosaurs, alvarezsaurids, deinonychosaurs, therizinosaurids, ornithomimosaurs, tyrannosaurids, pachycephalosaurs, hadrosaurids, small mammals, ankylosaurs, sauropods, and many other reptiles.