Nemegtomaia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from what is now Mongolia. It lived in the Late Cretaceous Period, about 70 million years ago. The genus name refers to the Nemegt Basin, and the specific name honours the Mongolian palaeontologist Rinchen Barsbold.
About Nemegtomaia in brief
Nemegtomaia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from what is now Mongolia. It lived in the Late Cretaceous Period, about 70 million years ago. The genus name refers to the Nemegt Basin, and the specific name honours the Mongolian palaeontologist Rinchen Barsbold. The first specimen was found in 1996, and became the basis of the new genus and species N. barsboldi in 2004. 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. It is the only known member of this group with a cranial crest. It was toothless, had a short snout with a parrot-like beak, and a pair of tooth-like projections on its palate. It may have protected its eggs by covering them with its tail and wing feathers. The skeleton of the nesting specimen has damage that indicates it was scavenged by skin beetles. It would have been feathered, and had a deep, narrow, and short skull, with an arched crest. The diet of Oviraptorosaurids is uncertain, but their skulls are most similar to other animals that are known or thought to have been herbivorous. It preferred to nest near streams that would provide soft, sandy substrate and food. It had three fingers; the first was largest and bore a strong claw.
The specimen was described as a new specimen of the genus Ingenia in 2002, and used to highlight the similarities between ovirptorosaurs and birds. In 2004 Lü and colleagues determined that the skeleton belonged to a new, distinct taxon, and made it the holotype specimen of NemEGtia bars Boldi. The name was changed to NemegTomaia in 2005, as the former name was preoccupied. It has been used to suggest that ovir Raptorosaurs were flightless birds, though the clade is generally considered a group of non-avian dinosaurs. The nesting specimen was placed on top. of what was probably a ring of eggs, with its arms folded across them. None of the eggs are complete, but they are estimated to be 5 to 6 cm wide and 14 to 16 cm long when intact. The species is classified as a member of the ovir raptorid subfamily Heyuanninae, and is thought to represent humid and arid environments that coexisted in the same area. In. 1978, the name was proposed for a genus from the same formation and was named Oviraptor in 1924; this name was therefore preoccupied instead. In 1990, more ovir aptorid specimens were discovered associated with nests and was therefore named Protoceratops, and therefore the name means \”egg-seizer\”, in reference to the fact that ovoraptorids are known to have brooded eggs.
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This page is based on the article Nemegtomaia published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
