Nomingia
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Nomingia Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
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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.
[edit] 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] This 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.
[edit] 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.