The Shar Tsav paleontological site

The Shar Tsav paleontological site is located on the border of Manlai and Khanbogd soums in Umnugovi Province, about 650 km south of Ulaanbaatar and 80 km from the nearest settlement, Khanbogd soum. Administratively, it falls within the Uguumur bag of Manlai soum, situated 108 km directly south of the soum centre. In 1995, over 13,000 dinosaur tracks were discovered at this site, with detailed studies conducted in 1996 and 2001. The majority of these tracks belonged to theropod dinosaurs, with sizes ranging from 6 to 70 cm in length. Notably, nine parallel trackways, each made up of distinct footprints of various sizes and shapes, revealed unique characteristics, including the distance between steps, direction, and formation conditions. These trackways offer significant research value. The site was designated as a state-protected historical and cultural monument by the Mongolian government in 2013 (Resolution No. 414), establishing a 408-hectare protected zone. This protection was reaffirmed by another government resolution on January 8, 2020 (Resolution No. 13). Shar Tsav dates back to the Late Cretaceous40 period, specifically the Bayan Shiree formation (K2bs). It was first discovered on July 31, 1995, by the Mongolian-Japanese joint paleontological expedition led by Kh. Tsogtbaatar, about 10 km northeast of Baishin Tsav in Khanbogd soum. Earlier paleontological and geological studies of Shar Tsav were conducted in the 1980s by the Mongolian-Russian joint expedition led by Ivakhnenko and Kurzanov (1982), who identified two types of dinosaurs at this site.