Pronunciation: koo-roo
Meaning: For Kurukulla
Author/s: Napoli et al. (2021)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Ömnögovi, Mongolia
Discovery Chart Position: #1051
Kuru kulla
(Kurukulla)Etymology
Kuru kulla is derived from "Kurukulla" (a deity venerated in Tibetan Buddhism). Mostly peaceful but with a penchant for wrathfullness and a sideline in magic and enchantment, she is usually depicted with four arms, holding a bow
and arrow in one pair of hands and a hook and noose in the other pair, all of which are made of flowers. We should probably point out that neither
Kuru are in any way associated with the cannibalism-borne prion disease of the same name.
Discovery
The remains of Kuru were discovered in the Barun Goyot Formation at Khulsan, Ömnögovi (South Gobi) aimag (province), Mongolia, during the first full scale joint expedition of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences—American Museum of Natural History to the Gobi Desert in 1991. Another dromaeosaurid named after a Tibetan Buddhist deity — Shri devi — was found at the same site. The holotype (GM 100/981) consists of skull fragments, part of a tooth-bearing bone from the lower jaw, 14 back vertebrae, three tail vertebrae, fragments of the right and left upper limb, pelvic bones, right and left thighs, a right shin, and fragments of both feet.
This specimen (under the same catalogue number) has been listed, informally, as "Airakoraptor", which probably derives from "airak" (also spelled "airag" in Mongolia), which is a fermented donkey-milk product that is important in traditional Central Asian steppe culture. A dromaeosaurid specimen from Zos Wash near Ukhaa Tolgod, that was collected in 1998 and is notable for being the first known eudromaeosaur preserved with evidence of feathers, has also been erroneously listed as IGM 100/981. The correct specimen number for this critter is IGM 100/3503. It's currently assigned to Velociraptor mongoliensis but probably shouldn't be.
