Khaan

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Saurischia > Theropoda > Neotheropoda > Tetanurae > Avetheropoda > Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Pennaraptora > Oviraptorosauria > Caenagnathoidea > Oviraptoridae > Heyuanniinae

Overview: Khaan takes its generic name from the Mongolian word for “lord” or “ruler”, the same title held by the infamous Genghis Khan. The name, coined in 2001, was chosen to honor Mongolia and its history. Khaan itself wasn’t an especially imposing or regal dinosaur by any means. It grew to be only one or two meters long and was, generally, lightly built. All known fossils of the animal come from the rock layers of Mongolia’s Djadochta Formation, so Khaan would’ve lived about seventy-five million years ago. Today, the Djadochta is exposed in the form of dramatic, reddish cliffs in the Gobi Desert. According to evidence, these rocks preserve what was once a somewhat similar environment, with Khaan and other Djadochta dinosaurs having inhabited a landscape of sand dunes with little water. Contemporaries included Velociraptor and Protoceratops.

The overall anatomy of Khaan reveals it to have been a member of the family Oviraptoridae, so it was a close relative of the famous Oviraptor, fossils of which are also known from the Djadochta. Oviraptorids belonged to a larger clade known as the Oviraptorosauria, which were classified somewhat close to the lineage that gave rise to birds. They were superficially very birdlike animals, evidence suggesting they possessed extensive feather coverage. Often, oviraptorid skeletons are found brooding over their own nests, their arms outstretched like the wings of birds to insulate and keep their eggs warm. Khaan and Oviraptor are distinguished by a few detailed traits. For the most part, Khaan retained more “primitive” traits than those of Oviraptor. Oviraptorids are usually seen as omnivores, having possessed short, toothless beaks that were well suited to such a diet.