The generic name Kryptobaatar is derived from Greek κρυπτός: kruptós, "hidden," (alludes to the ventral position of infraorbital foramen) and Mongolian баатар: baatar, "hero" (alludes to the name of the capital of Mongolia, Ulan Baatar). The specific name dashzevegi is named in honour of Mongolian palaeontologist Demberelyin Dashzeveg. The derivation of its synonym Gobibaatar parvus is Gobi (occurring in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia) and baatar ("a hero", the same as Kryptobaatar).[1] Another synonym Tugrigbaatar saichanensis is a generic name derived from the Toogreeg and Ulan Baatar, and a specific name derived from a Gurvan Saykhan mountain range.[3]
Species identified
Kryptobaatar dashzevegiKielan−Jaworowska, 1969. At Djadokhta Formation, Ukhaa Tolgod, Tögrög Shiree and Bayan Zag or Baruungoyot Formation, Red beds of Hermiin Tsav, Mongolia. Stage: lower Campanian or Upper Cretaceous. The skull has a length of perhaps 3 cm. The front teeth look impressively sharp and not much like those of a strict vegetarian. Gobibaatar parvusKielan−Jaworowska, 1969 and Tugrigbaatar saichanensisKielan−Jaworowska & Dashzeveg, 1978 are now treated as synonyms of K. dashzevegi by Kielan-Jaworowska et al. (2003).[4]
Kryptobaatar mandahuensisSmith, Guo & Sun, 2001. At Bayan Mandahu Formation, Urad Houqi Banner, Inner Mongolia, China. Based on several well-preserved skulls. This location is about the same stage as the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia, Campanian (Upper Cretaceous).[4]
Biology
Kryptobaatar was a hopping species, similar to a modern Jerboa.[5] It is thought to have been a carnivory-oriented omnivore.[6][7]
^Meng Chen, Gregory Philip Wilson, A multivariate approach to infer locomotor modes in Mesozoic mammals, Article in Paleobiology 41(02) · February 2015 doi:10.1017/pab.2014.14
^Wilson GP, Evans AR, Corfe IJ, Smits PD, Fortelius M, Jernvall J. 2012Adaptive radiation of multituberculate mammals before the extinction of dinosaurs. Nature 483, 457-460. (doi:10.1038/nature10880)
Kielan−Jaworowska, Zofia; Dashzeveg, Demberlyin (1978). "New Late Cretaceous mammal locality in Mongolia and a description of a new multituberculate". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 23 (2).