| Nomingia Fossil range: Late Cretaceous | |
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| Scientific classification
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Caenagnathidae | |
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Nomingia | |
Nomingia is a genus of caenagnathid theropod dinosaur hailing from the Late Cretaceous Bugin Tsav Beds. The remains, consisting of vertebral series, pelvic girdle and left tibio-tarsus, was described by Barsbold et al. in 2000. The etymology of the binomial refers to the location where the fossils were found, with the generic name mentioning the Nomingiin Gobi, a nearby part of the Gobi Desert, which is itself mentioned in the specific descriptor.
Discovery and naming[]
The remains, consisting of most of the vertebral column, pelvic girdle and left tibio-tarsus, holotype GIN 100/119, were found in 1994 in layers of the Nemegt Svita, dating to the Maastrichtian. They were named and described as the type species Nomingia gobiensis by Barsbold, Halszka Osmólska, Mahito Watabe, Philip Currie and Khishigjaw Tsogtbaatar in 2000. The etymology of the binomial refers to the location where the fossils were found, with the generic name mentioning the Nomingiin Gobi, a nearby part of the Gobi Desert, which is itself mentioned in the specific descriptor.
Description[]
Nomingia is characterized by a pygostyle-like mass of fused vertebrae at the tail end, which Barsbold et al. inferred probably supported a feather fan as in Caudipteryx.[1] A similar bone structure had only been found in birds before this fossil was discovered.
As other caenagnathids, such as Chirostenotes, N. gobiensis would be a medium-sized theropod sporting beaked jaws and, probably, a crest used for display.
Phylogeny[]
References[]
- ^ Barsbold, R., Osmólska, H., Watabe, M., Currie, P.J., and Tsogtbaatar, K. (2000). "New Oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda) From Mongolia: The First Dinosaur With A Pygostyle". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 45(2): 97-106.
External links[]
