A new genus and species of early-diverging oviraptorosaurs have been identified from two specimens discovered in Inner Mongolia, China.
“Oviraptorosauridae Dr. Xin Shu, a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Center for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has discovered that Penaraptor is a special species known primarily from the rich Cretaceous fossil record of Asia and North America. Said to be a group of order theropods. Yunnan University and colleagues.
“In recent years, a series of new discoveries have deepened our knowledge of their diversity, behavior, ontogeny, and reproductive biology.”
“More than 40 genera have been named, and Oviraptorosaurus undoubtedly includes some of the earliest divergent species. Inchesibosaurus Caudipterygidae and highly specialized edentulous species from northeastern China; Abimimus Oviraptoridae are from East Asia, Caenagnathidae are from Asia and North America, and the best known species date from the Late Cretaceous. ”
The new oviraptorosaur lived in what is now China during the early Cretaceous period, about 110 million years ago.
named Yuanyang Long Bai Nianit exhibits a unique combination of morphological features that distinguishes it from all oviraptorosaurs known to date.
“Yuanyang Long Bai Nian Identified as an oviraptorosaurian based on a short, deep skull and several pelvic features (i.e., triangular obturator process located in the center of the ischium and a long pubic bone oriented approximately ventrally) “We can,” the paleontologists said.
“However, some oviraptorosaurs, Yuanyang Long Bai Nian exhibits a unique combination of features not found in any previously known clade, such as a hook-shaped posterior process of the pubic boot that is longer than a rounded anterior process. ”
two jointed skeleton Yuanyang Long Bai NianThese bones, including part of the skull and part of the posterior skull, were collected in the summer of 2021 from the Maortu area of the Miaogou Formation in Chilantai City, western Inner Mongolia, China.
This discovery provides the first record of an Early Cretaceous oviraptorosaur near the Gobi Desert and provides further insight into the biology and ecology of early-divergent oviraptorosaurs.
“This new species is intermediate in morphology between the earliest and later divergent oviraptorosaurids, and our phylogenetic analysis suggests that this new species was formed by the Abymimididae and Caenagasoididae. “This finding supports the fact that it is a sister taxon to the clade that has been studied,” the researchers said.
“Remarkably, this new early-diverging oviraptorosaur has an extremely short postacetabular ilium and a hindlimb with a proportionally long and fused lower limb. The combination is not known in other oviraptorosaurs, but is common in wading birds, suggesting a potential ecology with wading birds.
“Preserved bezoars are Codypteryx Our new species suggests that it has a gastric mill function, and our preliminary observations suggest that the digestive mode of early-divergent and late-divergent oviraptorosaurs is indicates a potential mismatch. ”
of the team findings Published in a magazine Cretaceous research.
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Mingze Hao others. A new species of oviraptorosaur discovered from the Lower Cretaceous Miaogou Formation in western Inner Mongolia, China. Cretaceous researchpublished online October 24, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2024.106023
Source: www.sci.news