Kyzyl Kum

The Kyzyl Kum also called Qyzylqum, is the 11th largest desert in the world. Its name means red sand in both Uzbek and Kazakh. It is located in Central Asia in the doab between the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, and is divided between Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and (partly) Turkmenistan. It covers about 298,000 km² (approximately 115,000 sq mi).

Paleontology
The Kyzul Kum has exposed rock formations that have yielded a number of fossils. Of particular interest is the Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan, from the early Late Cretaceous, which has produced several species of early birds: Enantiornis martini and E. walkeri, Kizylkumavis cretacea, Kuszholia mengi, Lenesornis kaskarovi, Sazavis prisca, Zhyraornis kaskarovi, and Z. logunovi are recognized as valid species. Tyrannosaurid, therizinosaurid, ostrich-mimic, oviraptorosaurian, troodontid, armored, duckbilled, and horned dinosaurs are also known from this rock unit. Other fossils from the Cretaceous rocks of the Kyzyl Kum include tree trunks, pelecypods, beetles, sharks, rays, bony fish, frogs, salamanders, turtles, crocodylomorphs, pterosaurs, and a varied fauna of small early mammals. Paleontologists that have worked in this area include J. David Archibald, Alexander Averianov, Sergei Kurzanov, Lev Nessov, Anatoly Riabinin, Anatoly Rozhdestvensky, and Hans-Dieter Sues.