Genus: Altirhinus NORMAN, 1998
Etymology: ‘Alti-‘ Latin, altus, "high," and Greek, rhinus, “the nose”. In recognition of the highly arched nasal bones of the skull which give the snout of this animal a distinctively elevated profile.

Species: kurzanovi NORMAN, 1998
Etymology: For the collector of this new species, Dr. Sergei M. Kurzanov of the Palaeontology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, who is renowned for his collecting prowess, and for his work on a wide variety of Mongolian fossil vertebrates.

Holotype: PIN 3386/8 (some numbered 3388)

Locality: Khuren Dukh (Xypeh Dyx), northwestern Dornogov’ (East Gobi Province), approximately 30 km South of the town of Choir (Choyr), Mongolia.

Horizon: ‘Khukhtekian’ age.

Biostratigraphy:

Age: Late Aptian-Albian Stage, Middle Gallic Subepoch, Lower Early Cretaceous Epoch, Early Cretaceous.

Material: Much of the left side of the skull well preserved, right side of skull crushed and damaged and represented by isolated bones, right nasal, dentary, predentary, pterygoid fragments, quadrate, squamosal, postorbital, jugal, surangular, angular, prearticular, paroccipital wing, left and right atlas neural arches, left scapula, left coracoid, right and left sternals, right pubis, right and left ischia, manus digit V, ungual of manus IV, III, 3 pedal phalanges including one ungual.

Modified from NORMAN.

 

Paratypes:

PIN 3386/7 (3887): Left and right dentary, predentary, left and right surangular, angular, splenial, prearticular, right and left maxilla, premaxilla, jugal, palpebral, prefrontal, frontals, lachrymals, right and left quadrate, pterygoid, palatine, ?vomers, 10 isolated teeth, left atlas neural arch, fragmentary vertebrae (cervical and dorsals), many ribs, manus (metacarpals, phalanges, and unguals), sternal bones, coracoids, humerus, radius and ulna.

PIN 3386/9 (3389): Left and right scapula, left coracoid, left and right sternal, left and right humerus, left and right radius, right ulna, right manus, metacarpals II, III, IV, V, ungual of pollex, all phalanges of digits II, III and IV, phalanges 1, 2 of digit IV, and 1, 2 of digit V, left manus, metacarpals II, III, IV, V, pollex spine, digits II, III and IV complete, one phalanx of V, isolated carpal bones, right and left pubis, left femur, right tibia, left and right fibulae, right and left astragalus, 2 sets of metatarsals, all first phalanges, second phalanges on right and left digits II and III and 2 lateral unguals, and 34 caudal vertebrae.

PIN 3390: Small ornithopod skeleton. Broken limb and girdle bones of a small ornithopod, with some neural arch and jaw fragments, and an isolated dentary tooth.

PIN 3391: Small ornithopod skeleton, partial left pes, tibia, 4 vertebral centra and small fragments.