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Bayanzag
The Flaming Cliffs site (also known as Bayanzag ( zh, 巴彥扎格), Bain-Dzak or Bayn Dzak) ( mn, Баянзаг ''rich in saxaul''), with the alternative Mongolian name of mn, Улаан Эрэг (''red cliffs''), is a region of the Gobi Desert in the Ömnögovi Province of Mongolia, in which important fossil finds have been made. It was given this name by American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, who visited in the 1920s. The area is most famous for yielding the first discovery of dinosaur eggs. Other finds in the area include specimens of ''Velociraptor'' and eutherian mammals. It exposes rocks of the Djadochta Formation. It is illegal to remove fossils from the area without appropriate permits. The nickname refers to the red or orange color of the sandstone cliffs (especially at a sunset),. Dinosaur bones/fossils The following are dinosaur fossils that have been found in the Flaming Cliffs. Theropods: *Maniraptorans: ''Archaeornithoides'', ''Velociraptor'', ''Saurornith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Djadochta Formation
The Djadochta Formation (sometimes transcribed and also known as Djadokhta, Djadokata, or Dzhadokhtskaya) is a highly fossiliferous geological formation situated in Central Asia, Gobi Desert, dating from the Late Cretaceous period, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. The type locality is the Bayn Dzak locality, famously known as the Flaming Cliffs. Dinosaur, mammal, and other reptile remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. Excavation history The Djadochta Formation was first documented and explored—though only a single locality—during paleontological expeditions of the American Museum of Natural History in 1922–1925, which were part of the Central Asiatic Expeditions. The expeditions were led by Roy Chapman Andrews, in company of Walter Willis Granger as chief paleontologist and field team. The team did extensive exploration at the Bayn Dzak (formerly Shabarakh Usu) region, which they nicknamed Flaming Cliffs given that at sunset th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast and from north to south. The desert is widest in the west, along the line joining the Lake Bosten and the Lop Nor (87°–89° east). In 2007, it occupied an arc of land in area. In its broadest definition, the Gobi includes the long stretch of desert extending from the foot of the Pamirs (77° east) to the Greater Khingan Mountains, 116–118° east, on the border of Manchuria; and from the foothills of the Altay, Sayan, and Yablonoi mountain ranges on the north to the Kunlun, Altyn-Tagh, and Qilian mountain ranges, which form the northern edges of the Tibetan Plateau, on the south. A relatively large area on the east side of the Greater Khingan range, between the upper waters of the Songhua (Sungari) and the upper waters of the Liao-h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Velociraptor
''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is ''V. mongoliensis''; fossils of this species have been discovered in the Djadochta Formation, Mongolia. A second species, ''V. osmolskae'', was named in 2008 for skull material from the Bayan Mandahu Formation, China. Smaller than other dromaeosaurids like ''Deinonychus'' and ''Achillobator'', ''Velociraptor'' was about long with a body mass between . It nevertheless shared many of the same anatomical features. It was a bipedal, feathered carnivore with a long tail and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to tackle and restrain prey. ''Velociraptor'' can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout. ''Velociraptor'' (com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, making it the world's most sparsely populated sovereign nation. Mongolia is the world's largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea, and much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to roughly half of the country's population. The territory of modern-day Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the First Turkic Khaganate, and others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous land empire in history. His grandson Kublai Khan conquered China proper and established the Yuan dynasty. After the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protoceratops
''Protoceratops'' (; ) is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus ''Protoceratops'' includes two species: ''P. andrewsi'' and the larger ''P. hellenikorhinus''. The former was described in 1923 with fossils from the Mongolian Djadokhta Formation, and the latter in 2001 with fossils from the Chinese Bayan Mandahu Formation. ''Protoceratops'' was initially believed to be an ancestor of ankylosaurians and larger ceratopsians, such as ''Triceratops'' and relatives, until the discoveries of other protoceratopsids. Populations of ''P. andrewsi'' may have evolved into ''Bagaceratops'' through anagenesis. ''Protoceratops'' were small ceratopsians, about long and in body mass. While adults were largely quadrupedal, juveniles had the capacity to walk around bipedally if necessary. They were characterized by a proportionally large skull, short and stiff neck, and neck frill. The frill was likel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeornithoides
''Archaeornithoides'' is a genus of maniraptoran theropod dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Discovery and naming In 1965, a Polish-Mongolian paleontological expedition found a fossil of a small dinosaur at Bayn Dzak, Mongolia. In 1983, the find was reported by Andrzej Elzanowski. The remains were named as the type species ''Archaeornithoides deinosauriscus'' by Elzanowski and Peter Wellnhofer in 1992. In 1993, they were described in more detail by the same authors. The generic name (''Archaeornithoides'') means “shaped like an ancient bird” in Ancient Greek, from ἀρχαῖος, ''archaios'', "ancient"; ὄρνις, ''ornis'', "bird"; and εἶδος, ''eidos'', "form". The specific descriptor ''deinosauriscus'', "little dinosaur", alludes to the animal's small size for a dinosaur. The holotype, ZPAL MgD-II/29, was discovered in Late Cretaceous river sandstones of the Djadokhta Formation beds, dating from the late Campanian. It consists of an articulated bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinacosaurus
''Pinacosaurus'' (meaning "Plank lizard") is a genus of ankylosaurid thyreophoran dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous (Santonian-Campanian, roughly 75 million to 71 million years ago), mainly in Mongolia and China. The first remains of the genus were found in 1923, and the type species ''Pinacosaurus grangeri'' was named in 1933. ''Pinacosaurus mephistocephalus'' named in 1999, is a second possibly valid species differing from the type species in details of the skull armour. Of ''Pinacosaurus grangeri'' many skeletons have been found, more than of any other ankylosaur. These predominantly consist of juveniles that perhaps lived in herds roaming the desert landscape of their habitat. ''Pinacosaurus'' was a medium-sized ankylosaurine, about five metres long and weighed up to two tonnes. Its body was flat and low-slung but not as heavily built as in some other members of the Ankylosaurinae. The head was protected by bone tiles, hence its name. Each nostril was for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ankylosauridae
Ankylosauridae () is a family of armored dinosaurs within Ankylosauria, and is the sister group to Nodosauridae. The oldest known Ankylosaurids date to around 122 million years ago and went extinct 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. These animals were mainly herbivorous and were obligate quadrupeds, with leaf-shaped teeth and robust, scute-covered bodies. Ankylosaurids possess a distinctly domed and short snout, wedge-shaped osteoderms on their skull, scutes along their torso, and a tail club. Ankylosauridae is exclusively known from the northern hemisphere, with specimens found in western North America, Europe, and East Asia. The first discoveries within this family were of the genus ''Ankylosaurus'', by Peter Kaiser and Barnum Brown in Montana in 1906. Brown went on to name Ankylosauridae and the subfamily Ankylosaurinae in 1908. Anatomy Ankylosaurids are stout, solidly built, armoured dinosaurs. They possess accessory ossifications on c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceratopsia
Ceratopsia or Ceratopia ( or ; Greek: "horned faces") is a group of herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs that thrived in what are now North America, Europe, and Asia, during the Cretaceous Period, although ancestral forms lived earlier, in the Jurassic. The earliest known ceratopsian, ''Yinlong downsi'', lived between 161.2 and 155.7 million years ago.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> The last ceratopsian species, ''Triceratops prorsus'', became extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, . ''Triceratops'' is by far the best-known ceratopsian to the general public. It is traditional for ceratopsian genus names to end in "''-ceratops''", although this is not always the case. One of the first named genera was ''Ceratops'' itself, which lent its name to the group, although it is considered a '' nomen dubium'' today as its fossil remains have no distinguishing charact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithischians
Ornithischia () is an extinct order of mainly herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a pelvic structure superficially similar to that of birds. The name ''Ornithischia'', or "bird-hipped", reflects this similarity and is derived from the Greek stem ' (), meaning "of a bird", and ' (), plural ', meaning "hip joint". However, birds are only distantly related to this group as birds are theropod dinosaurs. Ornithischians with well known anatomical adaptations include the ceratopsians or "horn-faced" dinosaurs (e.g. ''Triceratops''), the pachycephalosaurs or "thick-headed" dinosaurs, the armored dinosaurs (Thyreophora) such as stegosaurs and ankylosaurs, and the ornithopods. There is strong evidence that certain groups of ornithischians lived in herds, often segregated by age group, with juveniles forming their own flocks separate from adults. Some were at least partially covered in filamentous (hair- or feather- like) pelts, and there is much debate over whether these filaments fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oviraptor
''Oviraptor'' (; ) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapman Andrews, and in the following year the genus and type species ''Oviraptor philoceratops'' were named by Henry Fairfield Osborn. The genus name refers to the initial thought of egg-stealing habits, and the specific name was intended to reinforce this view indicating a preference over ceratopsian eggs. Despite the fact that numerous specimens have been referred to the genus, ''Oviraptor'' is only known from a single partial skeleton regarded as the holotype, as well as a nest of about fifteen eggs and several small fragments from a juvenile. ''Oviraptor'' was a rather small feathered oviraptorid, estimated at long with a weight between . It had a wide lower jaw with a skull that likely had a crest. Both upper and lower jaws were toothless ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saurornithoides
''Saurornithoides'' ( ) is a genus of troodontid maniraptoran dinosaur, which lived during the Late Cretaceous period. These creatures were predators, which could run fast on their hind legs and had excellent sight and hearing. The name is derived from the Greek stems ''saur~'' (lizard), ''ornith~'' (bird) and ''eides'' (form), referring to its bird-like skull. Description ''Saurornithoides'' is a member of the troodontids, a group of small, bird-like, gracile maniraptorans. All troodontids have many unique features of the skull, such as closely spaced teeth in the lower jaw, and large numbers of teeth. Troodontids have sickle-claws and raptorial hands, and some of the highest non-avian encephalization quotients, meaning they were behaviourally advanced and had keen senses. ''Saurornithoides'' was a rather small troodontid. Though a possible adult, the type specimen has a midline skull length of 189 millimetres, compared to 272 millimetres for ''Zanabazar junior'', itself e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
