Omnisaura

Dinosaur genus

Shuvuuia

Chiappe et al. 1998

Shuvuuia is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 83.6–72.2 million years old, in Mongolia.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high9 medium1 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 11 October 2026
83.6–72.2 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by
Chiappe et al. 1998
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Described in
L. M. Chiappe, M. A. Norell, J. M. Clark (1998). The skull of a relative of the stem-group bird Mononykus. Nature 392: 275–278. Read it
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Chiappe et al. 1998).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.

Lived
Campanian, 83.6–72.2 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation83.6–72.2 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 3 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Fossils found in
Mongolia
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
Djadokhta
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

Family
Alvarezsauridae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Parent group
Parvicursorinae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Species named in its records
Shuvuuia deserti
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).

Diet
carnivore (inferred for its group)
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Coelurosauria, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.

Way of life
ground dwelling, solitary (inferred for its group)
lowlow: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Theropoda; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.

Known from
Bones
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Omnisaura editorial (Omnisaura editorial content (© Future Sailors, all rights reserved)), Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

  • Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Order: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
  • What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); diet (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

?

Same time, different places. Their fossils overlap in age, 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago, but no rock formation holds both.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Connections

Genera linked to Shuvuuia by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

ShuvuuiaSame rocks, same timeSame familyAlso found in MongoliaProtoceratopsVelociraptorPinacosaurusProtoceratopsidovumand 21 moreAchillesaurusAlbertonykusAlbinykusAlnashetriand 6 moreBagaceratopsElongatoolithusFaveoloolithusCoralloidoolithusand 35 more

Same rocks, same time 25

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

ProtoceratopsVelociraptorPinacosaurusProtoceratopsidovumElongatoolithusBagaceratopsByronosaurusCitipatiOviraptorPrismatoolithusAepyornithomimusAlmasArchaeornithoidesAvimimusEopinacosaurusFaveoloolithusand 9 more

Same family: Alvarezsauridae 10

Other genera in Alvarezsauridae with a full profile.

AchillesaurusAlbertonykusAlbinykusAlnashetriAlvarezsaurusCeratonykusElopteryxLinhenykusMononykusTrierarchuncus

Credits

Where this page comes from

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.