Nemegtomaia
Nemegtomaia.
Nemegtomaia, a genus of feathered oviraptorid dinosaur, lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous, about 70 million years ago. The first specimen was found in the Nemegt Basin in 1996, and became the basis of the new genus and species N. barsboldi in 2004, honouring the palaeontologist Rinchen Barsbold. Two more specimens were found in 2007. Nemegtomaia is estimated to have been around 2 m (7 ft) in length and to have weighed 40 kg (88 lb). It had a deep, narrow, and short skull, with an arched crest. It was toothless, with a short snout, a parrot-like beak, and a pair of tooth-like projections on its palate. The first of its three fingers bore a strong claw. One specimen was found on top of a fossilised nest of eggs that were probably arranged in a ring, with streams nearby, judging from stratigraphic data. This individual may have been protecting its eggs by covering them with its tail and wing feathers.
Nemegtomaia, a genus of feathered oviraptorid dinosaur, lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous, about 70 million years ago. The first specimen was found in the Nemegt Basin in 1996, and became the basis of the new genus and species N. barsboldi in 2004, honouring the palaeontologist Rinchen Barsbold. Two more specimens were found in 2007. Nemegtomaia is estimated to have been around 2 m (7 ft) in length and to have weighed 40 kg (88 lb). It had a deep, narrow, and short skull, with an arched crest. It was toothless, with a short snout, a parrot-like beak, and a pair of tooth-like projections on its palate. The first of its three fingers bore a strong claw. One specimen was found on top of a fossilised nest of eggs that were probably arranged in a ring, with streams nearby, judging from stratigraphic data. This individual may have been protecting its eggs by covering them with its tail and wing feathers.
