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Tarchia kielanae

Reptilia - Ankylosauridae

Taxonomy
Tarchia kielanae was named by Maryanska (1977). Its type specimen is ZPal MgD-I/111, a partial skull (posterior part of skull roof, braincase and partial occiput), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Khulsan, Central Cliffs, site 6 [PMPE], which is in a Campanian/Campanian terrestrial sandstone in the Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia. It is the type species of Tarchia. It was considered monophyletic by Vickaryous et al. (2004).

It was synonymized subjectively with Tarchia gigantea by Tumanova (2000), Carpenter (2001), Vickaryous et al. (2004).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1977Tarchia kielanae Maryanska p. 108 figs. Pl. 27
1977Tarchia kielanae Tumanova p. 92
1978Tarchia kielanae Tumanova p. 480
1987Tarchia kielanae Tumanova p. 23
1997Tarchia kielanae Osmólska p. 41
2000Tarchia kielanae Ford p. 176
2009Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani Miles and Miles p. 65 figs. 1-10
2011Tarchia kielenae Carpenter et al. p. 2
2011Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani Carpenter et al. p. 6
2012Tarchia kielanae Arbour et al. p. 55
2013Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani Kirkland et al. p. 7
2013Minotaurasaurus ramachandrami Leahey and Salisbury p. 251
2014Tarchia kielanae Arbour et al. p. 10
2014Tarchia kielanae Arbour et al. p. 634
2014Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani Han et al. p. 14 fig. 11
2016Tarchia kielanae Arbour and Currie p. 414–415
2016Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani Kineer et al. p. 42
2017Tarchia kielanae Arbour and Mallon p. 771
2017Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani Penkalski and Tumanova
2017Tarchia kielanae Penkalski and Tumanova
2021Tarchia kielanae Park et al. p. 2

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
RankNameAuthor
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Ornithischia()
—Genasauria
—Thyreophora()
—Ankylosauria()
familyAnkylosauridae
subfamilyAnkylosaurinaeNopcsa 1918
genusTarchia
specieskielanae

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Tarchia kielanae Maryanska 1977
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Invalid names: Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani Miles and Miles 2009 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
T. A. Tumanova 1987Height of large foramen magnum exceeds width, endo skull cavity very high; foramen for nerves large; single foramen for last skull nerves posterior to fenestra ovalis.
C. A. Miles and C. J. Miles 2009 (Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani)Skull with large, horizontally elliptical external nares situated terminally; external nares rimmed laterally and posteriorly by well-developed osteoderm, anteriorly rimmed by thin, triangular osteoderm fused on premaxilla; foramina for premaxillary and maxillary sinuses housed within external nares; premaxillary part of snout broad; occipital condyle poorly developed as in Saichania, directed ventrally; exoccipitals low, separated from skull roof by a gap, dorsal part near supraoccipital curved anterodorsally; quadrate nearly vertical, with distal articular condyle situated at the level between posterior rim of skull and posterior rim of orbit, quadrate head not fused to paroccipital process; skull roof not overhanging occiput; maxillary shelf well-developed and wide to below middle of orbit; premaxilla forms anterior rim of palatal vacuity, separating maxillae from vomer, as in Pinacosaurus; premaxillary beak wider than the distance between the last maxillary tooth; pterygoid body almost horizontal, not vertical as in Tarchia, Saichania and most ankylosaurids; teeth similar to Pinacosaurus with weakly developed cingulum.
V. M. Arbour et al. 2014Ankylosaurine ankylosaurid with bulbous frontonasal cranial ornamentation. Uniquely amongst ankylosaurines, Tar. kielanae has a discrete postorbital ossification separate from, but adjacent to, the squamosal horn, surrounded by a furrow; four bulbous internarial caputegulae; smooth and widely flaring supranarial caputegulae; a triangular region of rugose ornamentation with discrete edge on the premaxilla ventral to nasal vestibule; and pterygoid body more horizontally oriented than in other ankylosaurids.
V. M. Arbour and P. J. Currie 2016Ankylosaurine ankylosaurid with bulbous frontonasal cranial ornamentation. Uniquely amongst ankylosaurines, Tarchia kielanae has a discrete postorbital ossification separate from, but adjacent to, the squamosal horn, surrounded by a furrow; four bulbous internarial caputegulae; smooth and widely flaring supranarial caputegulae; a triangular region of rugose ornamentation with discrete edge on the premaxilla ventral to nasal vestibule; and pterygoid body more horizontally orientated than in other ankylosaurids.
J.-Y. Park et al. 2021An ankylosaurid distinguished by having the following unique set of characters (autapomorphies with an asterisk): a narrow internarial bar of the premaxillae (shared with Tsagantegia) (ambiguous in Tarchia kielanae); large, rhomboidal loreal caputegulum with a laterally extended posterior keel (shared with Saichania) (ambiguous in T. kielanae); subrectangular frontal caputegulae (shared with Saichania); a “neck” present at the base of the quadratojugal horn (shared with Pinacosaurus mephistocephalus and Minotaurasaurus) (ambiguous in T. kielanae); sigmoidal and peaked anteromedial supraorbital caputegulum*; posterolateral supraorbital caputegulum with a rounded anterior surface, and a flat, anteriorly-inclined posterior surface*; anteromedially poorly defined postorbital fossa that medially reaches the lateral nuchal caputegulae*; occiput visible in dorsal view (shared with Minotaurasaurus and Zaraapelta); foramen magnum taller than wide*. Differs from Minotaurasaurus, Pinacosaurus grangeri, Saichania, and Zaraapelta in having no postocular caputegulae (ambiguous in T. kielanae) and a posteroventrally oriented occipital condyle. Differs from Minotaurasaurus, P. grangeri, and Zaraapelta in having confluent supraorbital horns. Differs from Minotaurasaurus and Saichania in having a relatively tall braincase. Differs from Minotaurasaurus and Zaraapelta in having a long nuchal crest. Differs from Minotaurasaurus in having relatively long paroccipital processes that laterally reach the squamosal horns. Differs from Saichania in having remodeled squamosal horns and anteroposteriorly short lateral nuchal caputegulae.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Entire body: yeso
Adult length: 10 to < 100o
Adult width: 1.0 to < 10o
Adult height: 1.0 to < 10o
Architecture: compact or denseo
Ontogeny: accretion, modification of partso
Grouping: gregariouso
Environment: terrestrialo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: ground dwellingo
Diet: herbivoreo
Reproduction: oviparouso
Dispersal: direct/internalo
Dispersal 2: mobileo
Created: 2004-12-14 12:50:52
Modified: 2004-12-14 14:50:52
Source: o = order
Reference: Marsh 1875

Age range: base of the Middle Campanian to the top of the Late/Upper Campanian or 83.60000 to 72.20000 Ma

Collections: one only


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Middle Campanian - Late/Upper Campanian83.6 - 72.2Mongolia (Omnogov) Ankylosauridae indet. (type locality: 181421)