Neimongosaurus
"Inner Mongolia lizard"
Type species Neimongosaurus yangi
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Theropods, Therizinosauridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Zhang et al. 2001
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
A broad, vegetated floodplain was crossed by river channels and dotted with temporary ponds. Freshwater algae grew in the waters, and the wider landscape held Bactrosaurus, Gigantoraptor and Erliansaurus.
Field notes
About Neimongosaurus
What it was like
Neimongosaurus was a therizinosaur, a pot-bellied plant eater with a long neck, small head and long claws on its hands.
Its neck was long compared to its body, and it probably fed on leaves high off the ground.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now northern China. Its bones come from the Iren Dabasu Formation, where it shared the land with the giant oviraptor Gigantoraptor, another therizinosaur called Erliansaurus, and the plant eaters Bactrosaurus and Gilmoreosaurus.
How it was found
Zhang and colleagues named Neimongosaurus in 2001.
Field gallery
More views of Neimongosaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Neimongosaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Neimongosaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial skeleton preserves a long neck, a shorter tapering tail, substantial arm bones and short, stout foot bones.
- The front of the lower jaw curves downward and ends in a short toothless tip.
- The inner foot bone reaches up toward the ankle beside the main foot bones.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing upper face is restored by comparison with Erlikosaurus, and the hands draw on Falcarius.
- Filament feathers in Beipiaosaurus suggest that Neimongosaurus may also have had a feather coat.
Still unknown
- The shape of its upper jaw and hand claws.
- Whether the inner toe supported its weight.
- Its color and the extent of any feather covering.
Discovery timeline
- 2001Named itZhang et al.
- 2005Its worldVan Itterbeeck et al.
- 2009Close relativeXu, Zheng & You
- 2010Family treeZanno
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Neimongosaurus
Named it
Described a long-necked therizinosaur with a downturned lower jaw, substantial arms and short, stout foot bones.
A long-necked therizinosauroid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation of Nei Mongol, People's Republic of China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 39: 282-290
No link available
Its world
Identified river channels, a vegetated floodplain and temporary ponds in the Iren Dabasu Formation, along with freshwater algae and tiny crustaceans.
Stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the dinosaur-bearing Upper Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. Cretaceous Research 26: 699-725
Read the paper : Stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the dinosaur-bearing Upper Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Found simple filament feathers in Beipiaosaurus, supporting a possible feather coat in related therizinosaurs such as Neimongosaurus.
A new feather type in a nonavian theropod and the early evolution of feathers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106: 832-834
Read the paper : A new feather type in a nonavian theropod and the early evolution of feathers (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Reassessed its identifying features and retained a distinctive forearm muscle attachment as a useful way to distinguish Neimongosaurus.
A taxonomic and phylogenetic re-evaluation of Therizinosauria (Dinosauria: Maniraptora). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8: 503-543
Read the paper : A taxonomic and phylogenetic re-evaluation of Therizinosauria (Dinosauria: Maniraptora) (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Therizinosauridae
Sources: Wikidata