Tsaagan

Abstract: The Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurid theropod Alioramus has long been one of the most puzzling large carnivorous dinosaur taxa, largely because for several decades it has been represented only by a single, fragmentary specimen that seems to represent a long-snouted and gracile individual but is difficult to interpret. The discovery of a substantially complete skeleton of Alioramus at the Tsaagan Khuushu locality in the Maastrichtian Nemegt Formation of Mongolia, recovered during the 2001 American Museum–Mongolian Academy of Sciences expedition and described as a new species (Alioramus altai) in 2009, definitively shows that this mysterious taxon is a distinct form of longirostrine tyrannosaurid that lived alongside the larger and more robust Tarbosaurus. Here we describe and figure this remarkably preserved skeleton in detail. We provide exhaustive descriptions and photographs of individual bones, and make extensive comparisons with other tyrannosauroids. This monographic description provides furthe...

Abstract: Dromaeosaurids from the Maastrichtian of North America have a poor fossil record and are known largely from isolated teeth, which have typically been referred to taxa based on more complete material from earlier Campanian strata An almost complete maxilla with well-preserved dentition and an associated dentary from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana are used to establish a new dromaeosaurid taxon in the latest Maastrichtian, immediately prior to the end-Cretaceous extinction event Acheroraptor temertyorum gen et sp nov is differentiated from other dromaeosaurids on the basis of a hypertrophied postantral wall that projects posteriorly into the antorbital fenestra, a maxillary fenestra positioned low in the antorbital fossa and directly posterior to the promaxillary fenestra, and distinctive dentition with marked apicobasal ridges The new material allows a dromaeosaurid from the Maastrichtian of North America to be placed within a phylogenetic framework for the first time Phylogenetic analysis suggests Acheroraptor is a velociraptorine that is more closely related to Asian dromaeosaurids, including Tsaagan and Velociraptor, than it is to Dromaeosaurus, Saurornitholestes, or any other taxon from North America As part of the Lancian Tyrannosaurus–Triceratops fauna, A temertyorum is the latest occurring dromaeosaurid Its relationships and occurrence suggest a complex historical biogeographic scenario that involved multiple, bi-directional faunal interchanges between Asia and North America during the Late Cretaceous

Abstract: Small vertebrates have remained relatively poorly known from the Nemegt Formation, although it has produced abundant and well-preserved large dinosaur remains. Here we report three new avialan specimens from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia. These fossils were collected from the Nemegt Formation exposed at the locality of Tsaagan Khushu in the southern Gobi Desert. All of the new finds are partial isolated bones with a limited number of preserved morphologies; however, they further understanding of dinosaur diversity in the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia and, specifically, from the Nemegt Formation. The new specimens are described and evaluated in phylogenetic analyses. These analyses indicate that all three fossils are placed as part of the clade Ornithurae. Avialan diversity of the Nemegt Formation is reviewed and briefly compared with that of the underlying Djadokhta and Barun Goyot Formations. These formations have been considered to represent at least two distinct ...

Abstract: We describe a new dromaeosaurid theropod from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia. The new taxon, Linheraptor exquisitus gen. et sp. nov., is based on an exceptionally well-preserved, nearly complete skeleton. This specimen represents the fifth dromaeosaurid taxon recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation and its laterally equivalent strata, which include the Wulansuhai Formation, and adds to the known diversity of Late Cretaceous dromaeosaurids. Linheraptor exquisitus closely resembles the recently reported Tsaagan mangas. Uniquely among dromaeosaurids, the two taxa share a large, anteriorly located maxillary fenestra and a contact between the jugal and the squamosal that excludes the postorbital from the infratemporal fenestra. These features suggest a sister-taxon relationship between L. exquisitus and T. mangas, which indicates the presence of a unique dromaeosaurid lineage in the Late Cretaceous of Asia. A number of cranial and dental features seen in L. exquisitus and T. mangas, and particularly some postcranial features of L. exquisitus, suggest that these two taxa are probably intermediate in systematic position between known basal and derived dromaeosaurids. The discovery of Linheraptor exquisitus is thus important for understanding the evolution of some salient features seen in the derived dromaeosaurids.