Open Paleo

Nemegtomaia

Lü et al., 2005

Named for the Nemegt Basin of Mongolia where the fossils were found, combined with Greek 'maia' meaning 'good mother', in reference to the brooding behavior of oviraptorids.

83.6–66.0 million years ago Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Nemegtomaia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from what is now Mongolia that lived in the Late Cretaceous Period, about 72 to 70 million years ago. The first specimen was found in 1996, and became the basis of the new genus and species N. barsboldi in 2004. The original genus name was Nemegtia, but this was changed to Nemegtomaia in 2005, as the former name was preoccupied. The first part of the generic name refers to the Nemegt Basin, where the animal was found, and the second part means "good mother", in reference to the fact that oviraptorids are known to have brooded their eggs. The specific name honors the paleontologist Rinchen Barsbold. Two more specimens were found in 2007, one of which was found on top of a nest with eggs, but the dinosaur had received its genus name before it was found associated with eggs.

Diagnosis

  1. Nasopremaxillary crest with anterior margin nearly vertical
  2. Nasal process of premaxilla barely exposed in dorsal view
  3. Frontal anteroposterior length approximately one-quarter that of parietals
  4. Prefrontal present
  5. Quadrate process with convex surface projecting into quadratojugal cotyla
  6. Mandibular condyles of quadrate situated rostrally to occipital condyle

Species

Nemegtomaia barsboldi Lü et al., 2005

Type species

Named for Rinchen Barsbold, the Mongolian paleontologist who led the team that found the holotype specimen.

Holotype
MPC-D 100/2112 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material
Partial skull and skeleton
Horizon
Nemegt Formation, Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Nemegt Locality, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Nemegtia preoccupied Name preoccupied by Nemegtia (Bivalvia).

Notable specimens

  • “Mary”

    MPC-D 107/15 Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences Found 2007 by Federico Fanti reproductive

    Referred nesting specimen found atop a probable ring of eggs with arms folded across them in a brooding posture, making Nemegtomaia the fourth oviraptorid genus found on a nest. The skeleton bears feeding traces showing it was scavenged by skin beetles.

    Fanti et al. (2012)

  • MPC-D 107/16

    Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences Found 2007 by Nicholas R. Longrich ontogeny

    Referred specimen 35% smaller than the others, assigned on its hand characteristics. The hands may belong to a different individual, as they were not found articulated with the rest of the skeleton.

    Fanti et al. (2012)

References

  1. Lü, J.; Tomida, Y.; Azuma, Y.; Dong, Z.; Lee, Y. N. (2004). New oviraptorid dinosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Nemegt Formation of southwestern Mongolia. Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Tokyo, Series C 30: 95-130. lü2004a
  2. Lü, J.; Tomida, Y.; Azuma, Y.; Dong, Z.; Lee, Y. N. (2005). Nemegtomaia gen. nov., a replacement name for the oviraptorosaurian dinosaur Nemegtia Lü et al., 2004, a preoccupied name. Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Tokyo, Series C 31: 51. lü2005b
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026c
  4. Fanti, F.; Currie, P. J.; Badamgarav, D.; Lalueza-Fox, C. (2012). New specimens of Nemegtomaia from the Baruungoyot and Nemegt Formations (Late Cretaceous) of Mongolia. PLOS ONE 7(2): e31330. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031330 fanti2012a
  5. Funston, G. F.; Mendonca, S. E.; Currie, P. J.; Barsbold, R. (2018). Oviraptorosaur anatomy, diversity and ecology in the Nemegt Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 494: 101-120. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.10.023 funston2018a