What is Mahakala?
{{Taxobox | box_width = 230px | name = ''Mahakala'' | fossil_range = <small>[[Upper Cretaceous]]</small> | image = Mahakala omnogovae IGM 100-1033.png | image_width = 220px | image_caption = ''Mahakala omnogovae'' | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Reptile|Reptilia]] | superordo = [[Dinosaur]]ia | ordo = [[Saurischia]] | subordo = [[Theropoda]] | familia = [[Dromaeosauridae]] | genus = '''''Mahakala''''' | genus_authority = Turner ''et al.'', 2007 | subdivision_ranks = [[Species]] | subdivision = * '''''M. omnogovae''''' <small>Turner ''et al.'', 2007 ([[Type (zoology)|type]])</small> }} '''''Mahakala''''' <ref>from [[Sanskrit]], named after one of eight protector deities (dharmapalas) in [[Tibetan Buddhism]]</ref> is a [[dromaeosauridae|dromaeosaurid]] [[dinosaur]] from the [[Upper Cretaceous]] of 80 million years ago. It is based on a partial [[skeleton]] found in the [[Gobi Desert]], [[Mongolia]]. ''Mahakala'' was a small dromaeosaur, about 70 centimeters long (28 in). Its skeleton shows some features which are also found in early [[troodontidae|troodontids]] and [[avialae|avialans]]. However, its short forearms rule it out of the Alialae. Despite its late appearance, its structure is that of a basal dromaeosaur. Its small size, and the small size of other basal [[deinonychosauria]], suggests that small size came before flight in [[bird]]s. ==Description== [[File:Mahakala omnogovae.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Life restoration.]] [[File:Mahakala omnogovae SIZE.jpg|thumb|120px|right|Size of ''Mahakala'' compared to a human.]] Although this individual was small, comparable in size to ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'', ''[[Caudipteryx]]'', and ''[[Mei (dinosaur)|Mei]]'', it was close to adulthood. This genus can be distinguished from other [[paraves|paravians]] (dromaeosaurs, troodonts, and birds) by details of the [[ulna]], [[femur|thighbone]], [[ilium]], and tail vertebrae. It had a typical dromaeosaurid form of the second toe, with an expanded claw.<ref name=AHTetal07>{{Cite jo