Neimongosaurus

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Neimongosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Neimongosaurus yangi.jpg
Skeletal reconstruction
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Superfamily: Therizinosauroidea
Family: Therizinosauridae
Genus: Neimongosaurus
Zhang et al., 2001
Type species
Neimongosaurus yangi
Zhang et al., 2001

Neimongosaurus (meaning "Nei Mongol lizard") is a genus of herbivorous therizinosaur theropod dinosaur that lived in China during the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossils are known from the strata of the Iren Dabasu Formation. It is known from two specimens, discovered in 1999 by researchers from the Ministry of Land and Resources and described two years later. One species, N. yangi, is known, named after Chinese palaeontologist Yang Zhongjian.

Contents

Discovery and naming

Right rostral dentary from the holotype of N. yangi Neimongosaurus yang mandible.jpg
Right rostral dentary from the holotype of N. yangi

In 1999, a team from the Ministry of Land and Resources, based in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, was conducting field work at Sanhangobi, 12 mi (20 km) southwest of Erenhot. The strata they were working in belonged to the Iren Dabasu Formation, [1] which has been variably dated to the Turonian, [2] the Santonian, [3] or the CampanianMaastrichtian. [4] [5] The first specimen, LH V0001, consisted of a partially preserved braincase; the front of the right lower jaw; a nearly complete axial column compromising 15 cervical (including the axis), 4 dorsal and 22 caudal vertebrae; a furcula; both scapulocoracoids; both humeri; left radius; fragmented ilia; both femora; both tibiae; left tarsals and a virtually complete and articulated left pes. The second, LH V0008, consisted of a sacrum composed by 6 sacral vertebrae and both ilia. Both specimens were transported to the Long Hao Institute of Geology and Palaeontology for study. In 2001, Zhang Xiaohong, Xu Xing, Paul Sereno, Kwang Xuewen and Tan Lin assigned them to a new genus and species of therizinosaurid dinosaur, Neimongosaurus yangi, designating LH V0001 as the holotype. The generic name is derived from Nei Mongol, the Chinese name for Inner Mongolia. The specific name honours Yang Zhongjian. [1]

Description

Life restoration Neimongosaurus.jpg
Life restoration

Neimongosaurus was a fairly small therizinosaur. Zhang et al., in 2001, estimated its body length at 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft). [1] In 2016, Gregory S. Paul estimated its body length at 3 m (9.8 ft), and its body mass at 350 kg (770 lb). [6]

Skull

The skull of Neimongosaurus is represented by only the posterior (rear) part of the braincase, and the anterior (front) half of the right dentary. Similar to ornithomimids, oviraptorosaurs, and most troodontids, the symphyseal region (the area at the very front, where both hemimandibles connected) was U-shaped, rather than V-shaped as in other theropods. At the front of the dentary is an edentulous (toothless) region. Behind that is the alveolar margin which preserves five alveoli, or tooth sockets. Only one, the third alveolus, contains a functioning tooth, though the second bears the crowns of a replacement tooth that had yet to fully erupt. As demonstrated by the unerupted tooth, the crowns were compressed transversely (from side to side), and bore marginal denticles at the front and back. A neurovascular foramen, through which both blood vessels and nerves would have exited the skull, is situated about 15 mm (0.59 in) behind the symphysis. The occipital condyle is very thin, measuring only 12 mm (0.47 in), compared to the condyle of the foramen magnum, which measured roughly 15 mm (0.59 in). [1]

Vertebral column

Neimongosaurus' vertebral column is represented by a total of seventeen vertebrae. The first thirteen of these have been tentatively identified as cervical (neck) vertebrae. Zhang et al. suggested, tentatively that a total of fourteen were present. This would mean that Neimongosaurus would have had one of the longest cervical columns of any non-avian theropod, [1] longer than that of taxa such as Nanshiungosaurus , which had twelve or fewer. [7] Some oviraptorosaurs also had an increased number of cervical vertebrae, [1] though the maximum observed is twelve, in Caudipteryx . [8] The axis and the nine vertebrae behind it had long centra, with slightly concave anterior faces and strongly concave posterior ones. Seen from the side, they appeared gently arched, with much of their sides dominated by broad pleurocoels. The zygapophyseal facets of the neural arches were located to the side of the centra. The neural spines were low for most of the vertebral column, around half as tall as the centrum was long. The last cervical vertebra (the fourteenth) was very short. The first four dorsal (back) vertebrae are preserved in articulation with the last cervical vertebra, though four additional vertebrae not found in articulation were tentatively identified as the fifth through eighth. Their centra are spoon-shaped, bearing large pleurocoels. The neural spine of the fourth dorsal vertebra is tall and rectangular. The sacrum consists of six co-ossified (fused) vertebrae, which are known from the paratype. Twenty-two caudal (tail) vertebrae are known, suggesting that Neimongosaurus had a fairly short tail. The first caudal vertebra has long transverse processes, longer than the neural spine. The first few centra overall bore small foramina on each side, apparently reduced pleurocoels. [1]

Appendicular skeleton

The proximal half of Neimongosaurus' scapula was strap-shaped, with dorsal (upper) and ventral (lower) margins that were nearly parallel to one another. The furcula was robust and V-shaped. The left humerus, the best preserved, measured 22.2 cm (8.7 in) in length. Like other therizinosauroids, the medial tuberosity was greatly enlarged, and the deltopectoral crest was deflected at an angle of about ninety degrees. The radius measured roughly eighty percent the length of the humerus, and was expanded somewhat on both ends. The part of its shaft that was proximal (close to the body) had a prominent tubercle for the attachment of the biceps muscle, [1] larger and more proximal than in other therizinosauroids. [9]

The preacetabular process of the ilium was strongly deflected laterally, though not to the same extent as later therizinosauroids, like Nanshiungosaurus and Segnosaurus. Unlike in other therizinosauroids, its lateral surface was reoriented, and faced dorsally. The pubic peduncle, to which the pubis attached, was long and slightly arched, with some anteroposterior (front-to-back) compression: unlike other theropods, it was wider than it was long. The acetabular surface was broad. A rugose scar was present on the iliac blade's dorsal margin, midway along the postacetabular process. A similar area was present in many other therizinosauroids, though more well-developed. Neimongosaurus' femora have straight shafts with a head that projects medially (inwards, towards the body). A low, crescent-shaped fourth trochanter was present, just proximal to the middle of the femoral shaft. A deep fossa was present between condyles, and consequently, the distal articular surface of the femur is U-shaped. The tibia was approximately eighty-five percent as long as the humerus. The proximal end was almost as broad as its was long anteroposteriorly. The lateral condyle was displaced, causing the proximal end to have roughly the shape of an equilateral triangle. The tibial shaft was characterised by having a very long crest to which the fibula would have articulated. The left metatarsus exhibits many of the features that characterise therizinosauroids, and especially derived taxa, such as the first metatarsal's participation in articulation with the tarsus. It likely had little involvement in weight bearing. Most of the pedal phalanges (toe bones) are preserved. The proximal ones have an unusually well-developed heel. [1]

Classification

The original describers of Neimongosaurus suggested that it was a fairly basal therizinosaur, more derived than Beipiaosaurus but less so than therizinosaurids. They believed that it lay outside that family, based on characteristics of the ilium. [1] Subsequent cladistic analyses have indicated a position in the more derived Therizinosauridae, [10] [11] with Clark et al. in 2004 recovering it as the sister taxon of Segnosaurus . An phylogenetic analysis conducted in 2010 by Lindsay Zanno reaffirmed the initial hypothesis. [9] However, in 2019, Scott Hartman et al. once again recovered Neimongosaurus as a therizinosaurid, forming a clade with Erliansaurus , Suzhousaurus and Therizinosaurus . [12]

The below cladogram depicts the results of Hartman et al. (2019): [12]

Therizinosauridae

Paleobiology

In a 2006 conference abstract, Sara Burch presented the inferred range of motion in the arms of the therizinosaur Neimongosaurus and concluded the overall motion at the glenoid-humeral joint at the shoulder was roughly circular, and directed sideways and slightly downwards, which diverged from the more oval, backwards-and-downwards-directed ranges of other theropods. This ability to extend their arms considerably forwards may have helped Neimongosaurus reach and grasp for foliage. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Segnosaurus</i> Extinct genus of therizinosaurid dinosaur from late Cretaceous

Segnosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now southeastern Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous, about 102–86 million years ago. Multiple incomplete but well-preserved specimens were discovered in the Gobi Desert in the 1970s, and in 1979 the genus and species Segnosaurus galbinensis were named. The generic name Segnosaurus means "slow lizard" and the specific name galbinensis refers to the Galbin region. The known material of this dinosaur includes the lower jaw, neck and tail vertebrae, the pelvis, shoulder girdle, and limb bones. Parts of the specimens have gone missing or become damaged since they were collected.

<i>Beipiaosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Beipiaosaurus is a genus of therizinosauroid theropod dinosaurs that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous in the Yixian Formation. The first remains were found in 1996 and formally described in 1999. Before the discovery of Yutyrannus, Beipiaosaurus were among the heaviest dinosaurs known from direct evidence to be feathered. Beipiaosaurus is known from three reported specimens. Numerous impressions of feather structures were preserved that allowed researchers to determine the feathering color which turned out to be brownish.

<i>Falcarius</i> Extinct genus of therizinosaur dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Falcarius is a genus of primitive therizinosaur dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now North America. Its remains were first collected in the Cedar Mountain Formation in 1999, with subsequent findings made during the 2000s. The genus is known from multiple specimens ranging from immature to fully-grown individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Therizinosauria</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Therizinosaurs are an extinct group of large herbivorous theropod dinosaurs whose fossils have been mainly discovered from Cretaceous deposits in Asia and North America. Potential fragmentary remains have also been found in Jurassic deposits of Asia and Europe. Various features of the forelimbs, skull and pelvis unite these finds as both theropods and maniraptorans, making them relatives of birds. The name of the representative genus, Therizinosaurus, is derived from the Greek θερίζω and σαῦρος. The older representative, Segnosaurus, is derived from the Latin sēgnis ('slow') and the Greek σαῦρος.

<i>Enigmosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Enigmosaurus is a genus of therizinosauroid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It was a medium-sized, ground-dwelling, bipedal herbivore that represents the third therizinosaur taxon from the Bayan Shireh Formation, although it is known from the lower part. The genus is monotypic, including only the type species E. mongoliensis, known from a well preserved pelvis and other tentative body remains.

<i>Alectrosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Alectrosaurus is a genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, about some 96 million years ago in what is now the Iren Dabasu Formation.

<i>Alxasaurus</i> Therizinosauroid dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous

Alxasaurus is a genus of therizinosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Bayin-Gobi Formation of Inner Mongolia. It is known from five specimens, recovered from the Bayin-Gobi in 1988, as part of the China-Canada Dinosaur Project. During their preparation, palaeontologists Dong Zhiming and Dale Russell noted strong similarities to Segnosaurus. In 1993, they described Alxasaurus and named its type species, A. elesitaiensis. While therizinosaurs had previously been tentatively seen as late-surviving basal sauropodomorphs, the description of Alxasaurus lent credence to the idea that they were instead highly derived coelurosaurs.

<i>Archaeornithomimus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Therizinosauridae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

Therizinosauridae is an extinct family of derived (advanced) therizinosauroid dinosaurs whose fossil remains have been found in mostly Late Cretaceous boundary. Even though representative fossils have only been found throughout Asia and North America, the range of Therizinosauridae is believed to have spanned much of the supercontinent of Laurasia based on several footprints and isolated remains in Europe and Africa. Currently, Therizinosauridae comprises eight described and named taxa.

<i>Gilmoreosaurus</i> Hadrosauroid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous

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<i>Erliansaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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<i>Erlikosaurus</i> Extinct genus of therizinosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous

Erlikosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The fossils, a skull and some post-cranial fragments, were found in the Bayan Shireh Formation of Mongolia in 1972, dating to around 96 million and 89 million years ago. These remains were later described by Altangerel Perle and Rinchen Barsbold in 1980, naming the new genus and species Erlikosaurus andrewsi. It represents the second therizinosaur taxon from this formation with the most complete skull among members of this peculiar family of dinosaurs.

<i>Sonidosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Sonidosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a titanosaur which lived in what is now Inner Mongolia. The type species, Sonidosaurus saihangaobiensis, was described by Xu, Zhang, Tan, Zhao, and Tan in 2006. It was a small titanosaur, about 9 meters (30 ft) long. It was first discovered in the Saihangaobi, Iren Dabasu (Erlian) Formation, in 2001 in a quarry which would later yield the remains of Gigantoraptor.

<i>Nanshiungosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Nanshiungosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurid that lived in what is now Asia during the Late Cretaceous of South China. The type species, Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus, was first discovered in 1974 and described in 1979 by Dong Zhiming. It is represented by a single specimen preserving most of the cervical and dorsal vertebrae with the pelvis. A supposed and unlikely second species, "Nanshiungosaurus" bohlini, was found in 1992 and described in 1997. It is also represented by vertebrae but this species however, differs in geological age and lacks authentic characteristics compared to the type, making its affinity to the genus unsupported.

<i>Gigantoraptor</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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<i>Suzhousaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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<i>Martharaptor</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Martharaptor is a genus of therizinosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah. They can be distinguished from other therizinosauroids by means of several features of the skeleton which were intermediate between early therizinosaurs such as Falcarius and Beipiaosaurus, and more "advanced" members of the group like therizinosaurids. The deep and homogeneous hand claws clearly differ from the case in early therizinosauroids, but the foot has not yet acquired the robust morphology of therizinosaurids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of therizinosaur research</span>

The timeline of therizinosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on therizinosaurs. They were unusually long-necked, pot-bellied, and large-clawed herbivorous theropods most closely related to birds. The early history of therizinosaur research occurred in three phases. The first phase was the discovery of scanty and puzzling fossils in Asia by the Central Asiatic Expeditions of the 1920s and Soviet-backed research in the 1950s. This phase resulted in the discovery of the Therizinosaurus cheloniformis type specimen. Soviet paleontologist Evgeny Maleev interpreted these unusual remains as belonging to some kind of gigantic turtle.

<i>Paralitherizinosaurus</i> Genus of therizinosaurid dinosaurs

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References

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