Fun Tsaagan Facts For Kids

Are you interested in pre-historic animals, especially different types of scary dinosaurs? Then you have arrived at the perfect place. We have collected all the cool information about a special dinosaur, that you are bound to love, the Tsaagan.

The Tsaagan was a genus of theropods, that have been estimated to roam on our planet almost 75 million years ago. These dinosaurs were residents of the Campanian epoch of the Late Cretaceous period and were part of the Djadochta Formation. It has also been assumed that the extinction of Tsaagan might have occurred during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. These were carnivorous animals that fed on other small animals and baby dinosaurs.

As for the fossil that has been excavated, only a complete Tsaagan skull, 10 neck vertebrae, and a broken left shoulder girdle have been found. Since the entire skeleton of this dinosaur, including the vertebrae, has not been found, therefore an exact description cannot be made. However, they did have a robust skull and certain features that were similar to related dinosaurs.

If you find our content interesting and informative then do check out our other cool articles on Abydosaurus facts and Argyrosaurus facts.

How do you pronounce 'Tsaagan'?

The phonetic pronunciation of 'Tsaagan' is 'Sar-gan'.

What type of dinosaur was a Tsaagan?

Tsaagan mangas is a type of dinosaur that belongs to the family Dromaeosauridae.

In which geological period did Tsaagan roam the earth?

Scientists have made an estimation in their research that the Tsaagan mangas roamed on the face of our planet in the late Cretaceous era. Upon more research on the fossil specimen that has been found, the paleontologists are of the opinion that the Tsaagan lived almost 75 million years ago. On taking the geographical time scale of the earth, we can indeed confirm that this species of dinosaur belonged to the Late Cretaceous period and belonged to the fifth epoch, i.e Campanian of the time scale. The Cretaceous period lasted from 66-145 million years ago and is an important period of the Mesozoic era.

When did the Tsaagan become extinct?

There is no accurate evidence that points out the exact time scale during which the Tsaagan mangas became extinct. If we go on with the general time reference in which a dinosaur species became extinct, then the result comes to 10 million years. Using this theory we can make a rough estimation that these species of the dromaeosaurid became extinct 10 million years later, i.e almost 65 million years ago. There is a high possibility that the Tsaagan became extinct due to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. This event was responsible for eliminating almost 75% of life on earth. Thus there is a high chance that these dinosaurs perished with the activity of the meteor strike that was responsible for wiping out the lives of all the dinosaurs that existed at that time on our planet.

Where did Tsaagan live?

The only known fossil remains of this dromaeosaurid have been found in Xanadu which is a place in the Ömnögovi Province of Mongolia. The Djadochta Formation is a landform located in Central Asia, covering a huge portion of the Gobi desert that is home to numerous fossilized remains of dinosaurs. In this Djadochta Formation, the only specimen of the Tsaagan mangas have been found, so we can make an assumption that a major population of this species was inhabitants of this area.

What was the Tsaagan's habitat?

Owing to very limited information and data being available, very little has been known about the Tsaagan mangas. Before we can know more about the habitat of the Tsaagan we need to understand the climate and what our planet was going through almost 75 million years ago. The Cretaceous period started after the split of the Pangea into Laurasia and Gondwana land. Therefore the climate was relatively cooler which facilitated the growth of plants and vegetation on the land and sea and thereby ensuring steady growth and development of all animal species.

Who did Tsaagan live with?

There is no evidence that gives us an insight into the social life of the Tsaagan mangas. This Theropoda could have led a solitary life or could have led a highly social life. However, such information would be known once more specimen of this dinosaur of the Cretaceous age is discovered. In general different species of dinosaurs led different social lives. Fossil remains of many dinosaurs have shown herds of dinosaurs living and traveling together. Similarly, evidence has been found that depicts some species led a highly solitary life.

How long did a Tsaagan live?

Owing to very little information that is available to us, the exact lifespan of this Theropoda is currently unknown. Different species of dinosaurs under the classification of the class of Reptilia had different lifespans. Few species of ancient dinosaurs often had an enormous lifespan of almost 300 years while some predatory dinosaurs had a lifespan of almost 100 years. For the Tsaagan mangas, we can make an assumption that these dinosaurs might have had a lifespan of around 30-50 years.

How did they reproduce?

Just like all reptiles of the modern age, the dinosaurs laid eggs, and then from these eggs came out new life. Since it is believed that the modern age reptiles and birds have evolved from these ancient lizards, reptiles and birds bear a strong resemblance in their action to that of the dinosaurs in terms of mating behavior. Dinosaurs were territorial animals, and thus it can be assumed that these dinosaurs might have had mating rituals, where males would fight with one another to capture the attention of the females. Pieces of evidence have been found that the dinosaur eggs were internally fertilized, therefore after the eggs were laid, they were perhaps incubated, and then from those eggs hatched the new baby dinosaurs. 

What did Tsaagan look like?

The exact description of the Tsaagan mangas of the Djadokhta Formation cannot be made, as the entire skeleton of this dinosaur has been found yet. However, after the discovery of the fossil remains of this dinosaur, it has shown a complete skull, with a broken shoulder girdle and around 10 vertebrae of the neck. The skull is somewhat similar to the related velociraptor, however, it appears to be more robust. Being a carnivore, it certainly had sharp teeth, similar to related theropods.

How many bones did a Tsaagan have?

Since the entire skeleton of the Tsaagan mangas has not been found, therefore it is impossible to give a description of the total number of bones that the Tsaagan had.

How did they communicate?

Scientists have made the discovery that dinosaurs communicated with one another, and thus it also holds true for the Tsaagan dinosaur. It has been assumed that dinosaurs made a cracking or croaking sound to communicate with one another apart from body signs. Body signs include mating rituals and other associative signs that can be seen in present-day reptiles.

How big were the Tsaagan?

The Tsaagan size was about 6.6 ft (2 m) in length. They are about three times shorter than the largest velociraptor, Utahraptor. A Utahraptor, who was part of the Cedar Mountain Formation, was about 20 ft (6 m) in length. Unfortunately, the Tsaagan mangas height is yet to be discovered.

How fast could a Tsaagan move?

The exact speed at which Tsaagan mangas ran is currently unknown due to a lack of data and information. Since these were carnivorous dinosaurs that fed on other small animals, we can make an assumption that they might have had quite fast speeds to easily catch and hunt their prey.

How much did a Tsaagan weigh?

The weight of a Tsaagan manga as described was about 39.7 lb (18 kg) on average.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no distinct names for the males and females of this specimen of dinosaurs. They are just referred to as males and females.

What would you call a baby Tsaagan?

Since the baby dinosaurs hatched from eggs, they are known as hatchlings. Therefore in the case of the Tsaagan mangas, it is no different. A baby Tsaagan mangas would be known as a Tsaagan mangas hatchling.

What did they eat?

The Tsaagan was a carnivore by nature. It fed on small animals or even baby dinosaurs, using its sharp teeth.

How aggressive were they?

Dinosaurs that were carnivores were supposedly aggressive in nature. Therefore, we can assume that these dinosaurs were most probably aggressive too.

Did you know...

Initially, the Tsaagan was believed to be a velociraptor, however, research in 2010 showed that it was closely related to the Linheraptor.

Why are they called Tsaagan?

Tsaagan mangas in the Mongolian text effectively has a meaning, white monster.

Who discovered the Tsaagan?

Though the discovery of the specimen of the Tsaagan was made in 1996, it was up till 2006 when a group of scientists Mark Norell, Alan Turner, Peter Makovicky, James Clark, Timothy Rowe, and Rinchen Barsbold named and described this particular dinosaur species. Mark Norell is quite famously credited for naming the discovered dinosaur.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Coelurus facts, or Aublysodon fun facts for kids.