The study also recognized " Minotaurasaurus " as a distinct genus.
Arbour discovered that the holotype of " Tarchia " shared distinguishing traits with that of " Minotaurasaurus"
An interest in paleontology led Ramachandran to purchase a fossilised dinosaur skull originating from the Gobi Desert which, in 2009, was named after him as " Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani ".
A limited phylogenetic analysis conducted in the 2016 redescription of " Tarchia ", focusing on the interrelationships between " Tarchia ", " Saichania ", and " Minotaurasaurus ", is reproduced below.
In addition, it differs from both " Saichania " and " Minotaurasaurus " in that it lacks postocular caputegulae ( or small, polygonal bony plates behind the orbit ) and has a proportionally high occiput in caudal view.
A 2014 study by Victoria Arbour, Philip Currie, and Demchig Badamgarav concluded that " Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani " is probably a junior synonym of " Tarchia kielanae "; a redescription of the cranial anatomy of " Tarchia " in 2016, however, concluded that " Minotaurasaurus " was a distinct taxon.
A 2014 study by Victoria Arbour, Philip Currie, and Demchig Badamgarav concluded that " Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani " is probably a junior synonym of " Tarchia kielanae "; a redescription of the cranial anatomy of " Tarchia " in 2016, however, concluded that " Minotaurasaurus " was a distinct taxon.
In 2014, Arbour established two distinguishing traits apart from those known exclusively from the holotype of " Minotaurasaurus "; the back of the head is visible in top view; and deep groove runs along the front and outer side of the squamosal horn, and at the front it surrounds around an accessory osteoderm placed on the rear supraorbital, forming a deep furrow.