Two new species of oviraptorid theropod and a nesting site for these species in Mongolia were reported by paleontologists at the Public Library of Science web site on February 8, 2012.
There were no embryos or complete eggs found.
The two new species have more elaborate forefoot claws that are an indication of an adaptation for care of eggs and young.
Abstract
Two new specimens of the oviraptorid theropod Nemegtomaia barsboldi from the Nemegt Basin of southern Mongolia are described. Specimen MPC-D 107/15 was collected from the upper beds of the Baruungoyot Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian), and is a nest of eggs with the skeleton of the assumed parent of Nemegtomaia on top in brooding position. Much of the skeleton was damaged by colonies of dermestid coleopterans prior to its complete burial. However, diagnostic characters are recovered from the parts preserved, including the skull, partial forelimbs (including the left hand), legs, and distal portions of both feet. Nemegtomaia represents the fourth known genus of oviraptorid for which individuals have been found on nests of eggs. The second new specimen, MPC-D 107/16, was collected a few kilometers to the east in basal deposits of the Nemegt Formation, and includes both hands and femora of a smaller Nemegtomaia individual. The two formations and their diverse fossil assemblages have been considered to represent sequential time periods and different environments, but data presented here indicate partial overlap across the Baruungoyot-Nemegt transition. All other known oviraptorids from Mongolia and China are known exclusively from xeric or semi-arid environments. However, this study documents that Nemegtomaia is found in both arid/aeolian (Baruungoyot Formation) and more humid/fluvial (Nemegt Formation) facies.
Paper
Authors
Federico Fanti1*, Philip J. Currie2, Demchig Badamgarav3
1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico-Ambientali, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni, Bologna, Italy, 2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 3 Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia
Citation: Fanti F, Currie PJ, Badamgarav D (2012) New Specimens of Nemegtomaia from the Baruungoyot and Nemegt Formations (Late Cretaceous) of Mongolia. PLoS ONE 7(2): e31330. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031330
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