Nemegtosaurus

Name: Nemegtosaurus (Nemegt lizard).
Phonetic: Neh-meg-toe-sore-us.
Named By: Nowinski - 1971.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Nemegtosauridae.
Species: N. mongoliensis (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Uncertain due to incomplete fossil material.
Known locations: Mongolia - Nemegt Formation.
Time period: Campanian to Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skull.

       Although known from only a single partial skull, Nemegtosaurus is quite a find as titanosaurid dinosaurs are often only known from post cranial remains. However another titanosaurid called Opisthocoelicaudia is also known from the same Formation as Nemegtosaurus, and this one is only known from post cranial remains. This has led some to question if Nemegtosaurus is actually the missing head of Opisthocoelicaudia.
       The skull of Nemegtosaurusis has a light build but was preserved with the inclusion of a scleral ring, the bony support for the eye commonly found in archosaurs such as reptiles and birds. Analysis of this scleral ring shows that Nemegtosaurus was cathemeral, meaning that Nemegtosaurus was active for short periods throughout the day.

Further reading
- Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis n. gen., n. sp. (Sauropoda) from the uppermost Cretaceous of Mongolia. Palaeontologia Polonica 25:57-81. - A. Nowinski - 1971.
- Rediscovery of the type localities of the Late Cretaceous Mongolian sauropods Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis and Opisthocoelicaudia skarzynskii: Stratigraphic and taxonomic implications. - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 494: 5–13. - P. J. Currie, J. A.Wilson, F. Fanti, B. Mainabayar & K. Tsogtbaatar - 2017.
- A possible new specimen of the Late Cretaceous Mongolian sauropod Nemegtosaurus and sauropod diversity in the Nemegt Formation. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 64. - Alexander Averianov & Alexey Lopatin - 2019.

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