Tongtianlong
"Tongtianyan dragon"
- Lived
- 72 to 66 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Oviraptoridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Lü et al. 2016
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
70 million years ago
Habitat
Its skeleton was buried in muddy sediment in southern China near the end of the Cretaceous. Other oviraptorids from the region include Corythoraptor and Huanansaurus.
Field notes
About Tongtianlong
What it was like
Tongtianlong was an oviraptorid, a feathered theropod with a toothless beak and a domed crest on its head. Its skeleton was found with its arms spread and head raised, as if it died stuck in mud.
Its world
It lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous, in what is now China. It comes from the Hekou Formation, where it shared the land with the crested oviraptorids Corythoraptor and Huanansaurus.
How it was found
Lü and colleagues named Tongtianlong in 2016. The fossil was found by construction workers using explosives.
Field gallery
More views of Tongtianlong
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
The evidence
The science behind Tongtianlong
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A largely complete skeleton preserves a toothless skull with a rounded, dome-like roof.
- The front of the upper jaw bulges outward more strongly than in many other oviraptorids.
- The skeleton was buried with its arms spread sideways and its head raised.
Borrowed from relatives
- Most of its body shape comes from its own skeleton; comparisons with Citipati help restore missing parts.
- Feathers are inferred from feathered oviraptorosaurs such as Caudipteryx.
Still unknown
- Whether it died trapped in mud.
- Its feather colors and the shape of its feather covering.
- Exactly which foods it ate.
Discovery timeline
- 2015Same rocksLü et al.
- 2016Named itLü et al.
- 2017Same rocksLü et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Tongtianlong
Same rocks
Named Huanansaurus and showed that the region supported oviraptorids with several different skull shapes.
A New Oviraptorid Dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Southern China and Its Paleobiogeographical Implications. Scientific Reports 5
Read the paper : A New Oviraptorid Dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Southern China and Its Paleobiogeographical Implications (opens in a new tab)Named it
Described a domed, toothless skull and an unusually posed skeleton, adding another oviraptorid to a diverse regional fauna.
A Late Cretaceous diversification of Asian oviraptorid dinosaurs: evidence from a new species preserved in an unusual posture. Scientific Reports 6
Read the paper : A Late Cretaceous diversification of Asian oviraptorid dinosaurs: evidence from a new species preserved in an unusual posture (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Described Corythoraptor, whose tall crest adds another skull shape to the region's diverse oviraptorid fauna.
High diversity of the Ganzhou Oviraptorid Fauna increased by a new “cassowary-like” crested species. Scientific Reports 7
Read the paper : High diversity of the Ganzhou Oviraptorid Fauna increased by a new “cassowary-like” crested species (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Oviraptoridae
Sources: Wikidata