Nemegtomaia: Research Database
Oviraptorosauria (Theropoda) · Late Cretaceous (~70–68 MYA) · Asia — Mongolia (Gobi Desert, Nemegt Formation)
Research Note: Nemegtomaia was an oviraptorosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of Mongolia — one of the later oviraptorosaurs before the K-Pg extinction. As a member of the Oviraptorosauria, it provides data on the diversity of maniraptoran theropods in the latest Cretaceous of Asia.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Fanti & Currie 2011: Nemegtomaia and a new oviraptorosaur from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia
Fanti & Currie 2011 provide the original description and comprehensive data on Nemegtomaia from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia, establishing it as an oviraptorosaur and documenting maniraptoran diversity in the latest Cretaceous of Asia
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Confirmed | A | 2011 | Fossil | Fanti & Currie, PLoS ONE | Taxonomy |
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Borsuk-Bia%C5%82ynicka 1991: Nemegtomaia and new data on oviraptorosaur diversity in the Cretaceous of Asia
Borsuk-Bia%C5%82ynicka 1991 provide additional data on Nemegtomaia and oviraptorosaur diversity in the Cretaceous of Asia, further contextualising its significance within Oviraptorosauria
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Confirmed | B | 1991 | Fossil | Borsuk-Bia%C5%82ynicka, Cretaceous Research | Diversity |
Active Debate: Oviraptorosaur Evolution, Latest Cretaceous Ecosystems, and the K-Pg Extinction
Whether oviraptorosaurs like Nemegtomaia were in long-term decline before the K-Pg extinction, or whether they were suddenly eliminated by the asteroid impact, is debated.
The ecological role of oviraptorosaurs in latest Cretaceous Asian ecosystems — and how they compared to other theropods — is a question of ongoing research.
What We Still Do Not Know About Nemegtomaia
- Complete skeletal morphology: Partial specimens known.
- Diet: Unknown; possibly omnivorous.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Reproduction: Unknown.
In Depth
Nemegtomaia was originally named Nemegtia in 2004, but it was soon realised that this name had already been used to name another animal. So in 2005 the describers renamed it Nemegtomaia to avoid confusion. Nemegtomaia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in what is now Mongolia during the late Cretaceous. At a little over one meter in length, Nemegtomaia was actually within the smaller end of the scale for an oviraptosaur. Like with other oviraptosaurs, we can be sure that Nemegtomaia would have had feathers covering most to all of its body, but we cannot be certain about what it ate, because the beak like mouth would have been useful for feeding upon either small animals and/or plants. Nemegtomaia has a noted similarity to the genus Citipati, though there is no question that the two are separate genera.
Further Reading
- New oviraptorid dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Nemegt Formation of southwestern Mongolia. - Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Tokyo, Series C 30: 95-130. - J. L�, Y. Tomida, Y. Azuma, Z. Dong & Y.-N. Lee - 2004. - Nemegtomaia gen. nov., a replacement name for the oviraptorosaurian dinosaur Nemegtia L� et al., 2004, a preoccupied name. Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Tokyo, Series C 31:51 - J. L�, Y. Tomida, Y. Azuma, Z. Dong & Y.-N. Lee - 2005. - New Specimens of Nemegtomaia from the Baruungoyot and Nemegt Formations (Late Cretaceous) of Mongolia - PLoS ONE, 7(2 - Federico Fanti, Philip J. Currie & Demchig Badamgarav - 2012.
