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Oviraptorids
Oviraptoridae is a group of bird-like, herbivorous and omnivorous maniraptoran dinosaurs. Oviraptorids are characterized by their toothless, parrot-like beaks and, in some cases, elaborate crests. They were generally small, measuring between one and two metres long in most cases, though some possible oviraptorids were enormous. Oviraptorids are currently known only from the Late Cretaceous of Asia, with the most well-known species and complete specimens found only in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and northwestern China. Description The most characteristic feature of this group is the skull structure. Oviraptorids had short snouts and very deep mandibles. Some taxa (such as '' Citipati'', '' Corythoraptor'', '' Rinchenia'') had a midline crest on top of the skull, resembling that of a cassowary. Other distinguishing characteristics include a bony spike intruding on the mandibular fenestra, nostrils placed very high and far back on the snout, an extremely thin bony bar beneath th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nemegtomaia
''Nemegtomaia'' is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from what is now Mongolia that lived in the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), Period, about 70million years ago. The first specimen was found in 1996, and became the basis of the new genus and species ''N. barsboldi'' in 2004. The original genus name was ''Nemegtia'', but this was changed to ''Nemegtomaia'' in 2005, as the former name was preoccupied. The first part of the generic name refers to the Nemegt Basin, where the animal was found, and the second part means "good mother", in reference to the fact that oviraptorids are known to have brooded their eggs. The Specific name (zoology), specific name honours the palaeontologist Rinchen Barsbold. Two more specimens were found in 2007, one of which was found on top of a nest with eggs, but the dinosaur had received its genus name before it was found associated with eggs. ''Nemegtomaia'' is estimated to have been around 2 m (7 ft) in length, and to have weighed 40 k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corythoraptor
''Corythoraptor'' () is a genus of Oviraptoridae, oviraptorid dinosaur from the Maastrichtian, late Maastrichtian Nanxiong Formation of South China. It contains one species, ''C. jacobsi'', known from a single well-preserved skeleton, and named after paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs. It bears a tall crest similar to that of the modern cassowary, and possibly had a similar functionality of display (zoology), display and resonance to detect lower-frequency sounds. Like other oviraptorids, the bones of ''Corythoraptor'' were heavily skeletal pneumaticity, pneumatized with many air pockets. Microanalysis of the bones indicates seasonal growth spurts, and the type specimen probably died at the age of 6 or 7, meaning growth continued into at least the 8th year of development. The type specimen reached in length. Oviraptorids may have predominantly inhabited arid environments and ate xerophytic (drought-resistant) plants, nuts, and seeds. However, ''Corythoraptor'' coexisted with six othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oviraptor Philoceratops
''Oviraptor'' (; ) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapman Andrews, and in the following year the genus and type species ''Oviraptor philoceratops'' were named by Henry Fairfield Osborn. The genus name refers to the initial thought of egg-stealing habits, and the specific name was intended to reinforce this view indicating a preference over ceratopsian eggs. Despite the fact that numerous specimens have been referred to the genus, ''Oviraptor'' is only known from a single partial skeleton regarded as the holotype, as well as a nest of about fifteen eggs and several small fragments from a juvenile. ''Oviraptor'' was a rather small feathered oviraptorid, estimated at long with a weight between . It had a wide lower jaw with a skull that likely had a crest. Both upper and lower jaws were toothless ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wulatelong
''Wulatelong'' is an extinct genus of basal oviraptorid dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation (Campanian stage) of Bayan Mandahu, Linhe District of Inner Mongolia, northern China. It contains a single species, ''Wulatelong gobiensis''. History The fossils of ''Wulatelong'', representing a single nearly-complete skeleton, now cataloged IVPP V 18409, were discovered in 2009 in the Bayan Mandahu area of Wulatehouqi, Inner Mongolia, a fossil-rich area which has yielded many recent dinosaur discoveries. The authors of the paper describing ''Wulatelong'' had previously described the dromaeosaurid ''Linheraptor'' (2010), the alvarezsaurid ''Linhenykus'' (2011), and the troodontid '' Linhevenator'' (2011). ''Wulatelong'' was described by Xu ''et al.'' in 2013. The generic name derives from ''Wulate'', where the fossils were discovered, and ''long'', the Chinese word for "dragon". The specific name, ''gobiensis'', refers to the Gobi Desert. Classification ''Wula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oviraptor
''Oviraptor'' (; ) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapman Andrews, and in the following year the genus and type species ''Oviraptor philoceratops'' were named by Henry Fairfield Osborn. The genus name refers to the initial thought of egg-stealing habits, and the specific name was intended to reinforce this view indicating a preference over ceratopsian eggs. Despite the fact that numerous specimens have been referred to the genus, ''Oviraptor'' is only known from a single partial skeleton regarded as the holotype, as well as a nest of about fifteen eggs and several small fragments from a juvenile. ''Oviraptor'' was a rather small feathered oviraptorid, estimated at long with a weight between . It had a wide lower jaw with a skull that likely had a crest. Both upper and lower jaws were toothless ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gobiraptor
''Gobiraptor'' is a genus of oviraptorid maniraptoran dinosaur from the Maastrichtian-age Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. The type and only species is ''Gobiraptor minutus'', known from a single incomplete specimen—the holotype MPC-D 102/111. It has been found not to be closely related to the other oviraptorids it shared its environment with. Discovery and naming In 2008, the Korea-Mongolia International Dinosaur Expedition discovered an oviraptorosaurian skeleton at the Altan Uul III site in Ömnögovi Province, in the Gobi Desert. The fossil was prepared by Do Kwon Kim. In 2019, the type species ''Gobiraptor minutus'' was named and described by Sungjin Lee, Yuong-Nam Lee, Anusuya Chinsamy, Lü Junchang, Rinchen Barsbold and Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar. The generic name combines a reference to the Gobi with a Latin ''raptor'', "robber". The specific name (zoology), specific name means "the minute one" in Latin, a reference to the small size of the type specimen. Because the name wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crest (feathers)
The crest is a prominent feature exhibited by several bird species on their heads. It is distinct from features such as casques and cockscombs - sometimes erroneously referred to as "crests", which are bony and fleshy structures respectively. The crest is made up of semiplume feathers: a long rachis with barbs on either side. These are plumulaceous feathers, meaning that they are soft and bendable. In birds, these semiplumes are common along the head, neck, and upper back, and may be used for buoyancy and sensing vibrations. Crests on birds are generally used for display purposes. Cockatoos (a family that also includes corellas and the cockatiel) are part of the parrot family Cacatuidae found in Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Philippines, and are probably the most recognizable birds to feature crests. Cockatoos and cockatiels possess crests which may be raised or lowered at will. Their crests are used to communicate with fellow members of their species, or as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutionary history, evolution of dinosaurs is a subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya and their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, Evolution of birds, having evolved from earlier Theropoda, theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. Dinosaurs are varied from taxonomy (biology), taxonomic, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maniraptora
Maniraptora is a clade of coelurosaurian dinosaurs which includes the birds and the non-avian dinosaurs that were more closely related to them than to ''Ornithomimus velox''. It contains the major subgroups Avialae, Dromaeosauridae, Troodontidae, Oviraptorosauria, and Therizinosauria. ''Ornitholestes'' and the Alvarezsauroidea are also often included. Together with the next closest sister group, the Ornithomimosauria, Maniraptora comprises the more inclusive clade Maniraptoriformes. Maniraptorans first appear in the fossil record during the Jurassic Period (see ''Eshanosaurus''), and origin of birds#Phylogeny, survive today as living birds. Description Maniraptorans are characterized by long arms and three-fingered hands (though reduced or fused in some lineages), as well as a "half-moon shaped" (semilunar bone, semi-lunate) bone in the wrist (Carpal bones, carpus). In 2004, Tom Holtz and Halszka Osmólska pointed out six other maniraptoran characteristics relating to specific de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of the waterless regions in the Mongolian Plateau; in Chinese, ''gobi'' is used to refer to rocky, semi-deserts such as the Gobi itself rather than sandy deserts. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast and from north to south. The desert is widest in the west, along the line joining the Lake Bosten and the Lop Nor (87°–89° east). Its area is approximately . Gobi includes the long stretch of desert extending from the foot of the Pamirs (77° east) to the Greater Khingan Mountains, 116–118° east, on the border of Manchuria; and from the foothills of the Altay, Sayan, and Yablonoi mountain ranges on the north to the Kunlun, Altyn-Tagh, and Qilian mountain ranges, which form the northern edges of the Tibetan Pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oksoko Avarsan
''Oksoko'' (''Oak-soak-oh''; from '' Öksökö'', a mythical bird of Yakut folklore) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Asia, that lived in what is now the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia. It includes the type species ''Oksoko avarsan''. History of discovery The first specimen of ''Oksoko'', MPC-D 100/33, was discovered in 1974 by the Soviet-Mongolian Palaeontological Expedition at the Bügiin Tsav locality in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. It is represented by a partial subadult postcranial skeleton. Although MPC-D 100/33 has been largely referred as a paratype of '' Heyuannia'', this specimen shares several traits with other specimens of ''Oksoko'' including a reduced third metacarpal. The holotype specimen is a block of an assemblage of three individuals buried in life positions that has been labelled as MPC-D 102/110. The first individual, subcatalogued as MPC-D 102/110a, is a partial skeleton of a juvenile preserving the skull, cervical vertebra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machairasaurus
''Machairasaurus'' is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur which was found in the Bayan Mandahu Formation, China, dating to the late Cretaceous period. Discovery During the Sino-Canadian expeditions of 1988 and 1990 some skeletons of unknown oviraptorosaurians were discovered by Philip J. Currie in Inner Mongolia. Based on two of these a new genus was named and described by Nicholas Longrich, Philip Currie, and Dong Zhiming in 2010 with the type species ''Machairasaurus leptonychus''. The generic name is derived from Greek ('), "short scimitar". The specific name is derived from Greek ('), "slender", and ('), "claw". The species name as a whole refers to the sabre-like claws of the hand. The holotype, IVPP V15979, was found in layers of the Bayan Mandahu dating from the late Campanian. It mainly consists of a left front limb, including the lower end of the lower arm, two carpal bones, and a complete hand.Some fragmentary foot elements are also known. The other find is the parat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
