Neimongosaurus

Nigh-mon-go-sore-us.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Neimongosaurus ‭(‬Nei Mongol lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Nigh-mon-go-sore-us.

Named By

X.-H.‭ ‬Zhang,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬X.-J.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Sereno,‭ ‬X.-W.‭ ‬Kuang‭ & ‬L.‭ ‬Tan‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Therizinosauroidea.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

N.‭ ‬yangi‭

Size

About‭ ‬2.3‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

China‭ ‬-‭ ‬Iren Dabasu Formation.‭ ‬Kazakstan‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bostobe Formation.

Time Period

Santonian to Campanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial skeleton as well as partial skull/jaw fragments.

In Depth

       Neimongosaurus is a genus of therizinosaur that lived in Asia during the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬Like other therizinosaurs,‭ ‬Neimongosaurus was descended from meat eating theropods,‭ ‬though the teeth in the lower jaw of Neimongosaurus which have coarse serrations‭ ‬which‭ ‬indicate that Neimongosaurus were plant eaters.‭ ‬Neimongosaurus has occasionally been classed as a member of the Therizinosauridae,‭ ‬though the original idea as well as later interpretations of Neimongosaurus is that it actually belongs in the Therizinosauroidea,‭ ‬meaning that it was more primitive in form.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A long-necked therizinosauroid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation of Nei Mongol,‭ ‬People’s Republic of China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Vertebrata PalAsiatica‭ ‬39‭(‬4‭)‬:282-290.‭ ‬-‭ ‬X.-H.‭ ‬Zhang,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬X.-J.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Sereno,‭ ‬X.-W.‭ ‬Kuang‭ & ‬L.‭ ‬Tan‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001. – The range of motion of the glenohumeral joint of the therizinosaur Neimongosaurus yangi (Dinosauria: Theropoda). – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (supp. 3): 46A. – S. H. Burch – 2006. -‭ ‬A taxonomic and phylogenetic re-evaluation of Therizinosauria‭ (‬Dinosauria:‭ ‬Maniraptora‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Systematic Palaeontology‭ ‬8‭ (‬4‭)‬:‭ ‬503‭–‬543.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Lindsay E.‭ ‬Zanno‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT