Ondogurvel Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, (Campanian), | |
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Life reconstruction of O. alifanovi | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Family: | † Alvarezsauridae |
Subfamily: | † Parvicursorinae |
Genus: | † Ondogurvel Averianov & Lopatin, 2022 |
Species: | †O. alifanovi |
Binomial name | |
†Ondogurvel alifanovi Averianov & Lopatin, 2022 | |
Ondogurvel (IPA: [ɒndɒɡurw̜iɮ] ) (meaning "egg lizard") is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Barun Goyot Formation in southern Mongolia. The type and only species is O. alifanovi, known from a partial skeleton consisting of fragments of two last dorsal vertebrae, three anterior sacral vertebrae, right ilium, left and right pubis and ischium, articulated right tibia, fibula, metatarsals II and IV, and phalanges IV-1 and IV-2, right carpometacarpus, left and right manual phalanx II-1, right femur, left pedal phalanx II-1, and fragments of unidentified phalanges. [1]
In 2022, the type species Ondogurvel alifanovi was named and described by Alexander O. Averianov and Alexey V. Lopatin. The generic name, "Ondogurvel" combines the Mongolian words өндөг “ondo” (IPA: [ɒndɒ] ), meaning egg, and гүрвэл “gurvel” (IPA: [ɡurw̜iɮ] ), meaning lizard. The specific name, "alifanovi" (IPA: [ɑːlɪfɑːnɔːvaɪ] ) honors the late Russian paleontologist Vladimir Alifanov who found the holotype specimen (PIN 5838/1) in 1999. [1]
Ondogurvel was a bipedal theropod. Like other parvicursorines, it had a robust humerus, and long hindlimbs suggesting a cusorial lifestyle. It is unique in that, unlike all other alvarezsaurids, it has metartarsals II and IV completely fused along their contact area. [1]
The following differences from the Parvicursor , another parvicursorine from the Barun Goyot Formation, were identified by Averianov & Lopatin (2022): [1]
On the other hand, describers noted that the femora of Ondogurvel and Parvicursor are almost identical. [1] Mickey Mortimer has suggested that Ondogurvel may be a junior synonym of Parvicursor, which is known only from a juvenile individual. [2]
Averianov and Lopatin (2022) place Ondogurvel in the alvarezsaurid subfamily Parvicursorinae which are classified by their manus morphology. They recovered that Ondogurvel formed a clade with Xixianykus and Albinykus which have proximally co-ossified metatarsals II and IV. The describing paper also proposes that the "drastic difference in the morphology of the carpometacarpus [across Parvicursorinae] may suggest a deep divergence between the parvicursorine lineages represented by [ Dzharaonyx ] – Linhenykus and Mononykus – Ondogurvel".
Phylogeny after Averianov & Lopatin (2022): [1]
Alvarezsauridae |
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Nemegtomaia , an oviraptorosaur, is also known from the Nemegt locality of the Mongolian Barun Goyot Formation. [3] Other localities from the formation have yielded dinosaurs including other alvarezsaurids ( Ceratonykus, [4] Khulsanurus, [5] and Parvicursor [6] ), as well as dromaeosaurs ( Hulsanpes , [7] Kuru, [8] and Shri [9] ), oviraptorosaurs ( Conchoraptor and Heyuannia ), [10] a sauropod ( Quaesitosaurus ), [11] ceratopsians ( Bagaceratops and Breviceratops ), [12] a pachycephalosaur ( Tylocephale ), [13] and ankylosaurs ( Saichania , [14] Tarchia , [15] and Zaraapelta [16] ).
Therizinosaurus is a genus of very large therizinosaurid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Nemegt Formation around 72.1 million years ago to 66 million years ago. It contains a single species, Therizinosaurus cheloniformis. The first remains of Therizinosaurus were found in 1948 by a Mongolian field expedition at the Gobi Desert and later described by Evgeny Maleev in 1954. The genus is only known from a few bones, including gigantic manual unguals, from which it gets its name, and additional findings comprising fore and hindlimb elements that were discovered from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Parvicursor is a genus of tiny maniraptoran dinosaur with long slender legs for fast running.
Avimimus, meaning "bird mimic", is a genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur, named for its bird-like characteristics, that lived in the late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia, around 85 to 70 million years ago.
Conchoraptor is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 70 million years ago. It is known from the Barun Goyot and Nemegt formations of Mongolia.
Bagaceratops is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 72 to 71 million years ago. Bagaceratops remains have been reported from the Barun Goyot Formation and Bayan Mandahu Formation. One specimen may argue the possible presence of Bagaceratops in the Djadochta Formation.
The Bayan Shireh Formation is a geological formation in Mongolia, that dates to the Cretaceous period. It was first described and established by Vasiliev et al. 1959.
Breviceratops is a genus of protoceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation, Mongolia.
Tylocephale is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischians, that lived during the Late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia. It is known from a partial skull and associated mandible that were unearthed in 1971 by a Polish-Mongolian Expedition to the Barun Goyot Formation of the Gobi Desert. The specimen was described in 1974 by Polish paleontologists Teresa Maryańska and Halszka Osmólska as a new genus and species.
Kuru is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus contains only a single species, the type species Kuru kulla, which is known from a fragmentary skeleton including a partial skull.
Patagonykus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. This alvarezsauroid was discovered in exposures of the Portezuelo Formation (Turonian-Coniacian) of the Rio Neuquén Subgroup in the Neuquén Basin, Neuquen Province of Patagonia, Argentina. The holotype consists of an incomplete but well-preserved skeleton, lacking a skull, but including many vertebrae, the coracoids, a partial forelimb, pelvic girdle, and hindlimbs. Patagonykus has been classed with the Alvarezsauridae, a family which includes such taxa as the Mongolian Mononykus and the Argentinian Alvarezsaurus. In 2010 Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at 1 meter and its weight at 3.5 kg.
Heyuannia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, in what is now China and Mongolia. It was the first oviraptorid found in China; most others were found in neighbouring Mongolia. Two species are known: H. huangi, named by Lü Junchang in 2002 from the Dalangshan Formation; and H. yanshini, originally named as a separate genus Ingenia from the Barun Goyot Formation by Rinchen Barsbold in 1981, and later renamed to Ajancingenia in 2013 due to the preoccupation of Ingenia. The latter name was eventually discarded due to various ethical issues surrounding the author.
Hulsanpes is a genus of halszkaraptorine theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia, about 75-72 million years ago. The remains were found in 1970 and formally described in 1982 by Halszka Osmólska, who noted that the genus is represented by an immature individual. Hulsanpes represents the first record of the basal dromaeosaurid subfamily Halszkaraptorinae.
The Barun Goyot Formation is a geological formation dating to the Late Cretaceous Period. It is located within and is widely represented in the Gobi Desert Basin, in the Ömnögovi Province of Mongolia.
The Nemegt Formation is a geological formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, dating to the Late Cretaceous. The formation consists of river channel sediments and contains fossils of fish, turtles, crocodilians, and a diverse fauna of dinosaurs, including birds.
Halszka Osmólska was a Polish paleontologist who had specialized in Mongolian dinosaurs.
Ceratonykus is a monospecific genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from Mongolia that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation. The type and only species, Ceratonykus oculatus, is known from a fragmentary skeleton, including an incomplete skull, of an adult individual. It was named and described in 2009 by Vladimir Alifanov and Rinchen Barsbold. Its describers questioned the traditional placement of alvarezsaurs in Theropoda, instead suggesting they were ornithischians, but this has not been accepted since. Ceratonykus has an estimated length of 75 centimetres and weight of 760 grams. It has been considered as a possible junior synonym of Parvicursor.
Khulsanurus is an extinct genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Barungoyot Formation of the Khulsan Locality in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. The type and only species is Khulsanurus magnificus.
Dzharaonyx is a genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan. The type species is Dzharaonyx eski; eski being an Uzbek word for "old".
Natovenator is a genus of halszkaraptorine dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus is known from a single species, N. polydontus. Natovenator is crucial to the understanding of halszkaraptorines due to it providing more support for the semi-aquatic lifestyle that has been proposed for this clade. This discovery is important as the semi-aquatic lifestyles of halszkaraptorines was contested in early 2022.
Jaculinykus is an extinct genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus contains a single species, J. yaruui, known from a nearly complete articulated skeleton including bones of the skull. Jaculinykus is notable for its unique hand, which has a hypertrophied first digit and greatly reduced second digit, which is intermediate between the tridactyl hand of Shuvuuia and monodactyl hand of Linhenykus.