AGE:
Late Cretaceous (Campanian), Barun Goyot Formation, 75 million years ago

SIZE:
Estimated to be 3-4 metres long, although only the skull is known

MEANING OF NAME:
'Brain'

PRONUNCIATION:
TAR-kee-a

CLASSIFICATION:
ANKYLOSAURIA: Ankylosauridae

Tarchia in Mongolian means 'brain'. This name was applied because although the other ankylosaur from the Barun Goyot Formation, Saichania chulsanensis, has a skull twice the size, Tarchia has a larger braincase. However, the brain of Tarchia was still tiny in comparison to any mammal of the same size.

All that is known of this armoured dinosaur is a skull, so there is much more to be learned about it in the future.