Rinchenia

Barsbold, 1997 rin-chen-ee-ah

Named after Mongolian paleontologist Byambyn Rinchen, with the Latinized suffix '-ia' forming the genus name.

72.2–66.0 million years ago Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous

Late Cretaceous stages

Rinchenia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch in what is now Mongolia, Nemegt Formation. The type and only known species, Rinchenia mongoliensis, was originally classified as a species within the genus Oviraptor (named Oviraptor mongoliensis), but a subsequent reexamination found differences significant enough to warrant a separate genus. The name Rinchenia was coined for this new genus, though not formally described in detail.

Diagnosis

Tall, domed cranial crest composed primarily of the nasals, whose enlarged lateral descending processes form a honeycombed lattice perforated by pneumatic cavities
Frontal taller than anteroposteriorly long, bearing a lateral ridge for the postorbital with parallel frontal and jugal processes
Interfingering jugal-quadratojugal contact, unique among oviraptorids
Ilium with an anterodorsally expanded, large preacetabular blade, the preacetabular process ventrally hooked and pointed
Femur with the popliteal fossa overhung by the medial distal condyle, forming a tunnel for the cruciate ligaments

Species

Rinchenia mongoliensis (Barsbold, 1986)

Type species

First named as Oviraptor mongoliensis

Named for Mongolia, the country where the holotype was discovered.

Holotype: MPC-D 100/32-A , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material: A nearly complete skeleton with the crested skull, mandible, vertebrae, sacrum, ilium, scapulocoracoid, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, and tibia; lacking the manus, most of the pes, and distal tail.
Horizon: Nemegt Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality: Altan Uul II, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

Synonyms

Oviraptor mongoliensis reassigned

Originally described as Oviraptor mongoliensis by Barsbold (1986); Barsbold (1997) erected the genus Rinchenia for the species.

References

Barsbold, R. (1986). Raubdinosaurier Oviraptoren. Herpetologische Untersuchungen in der Mongolischen Volksrepublik (Vorobyeva, E. I., ed.) 210-223. Akademia Nauk SSSR.
Original description of the type material, as Oviraptor mongoliensis; in German.
barsbold1986a
Barsbold, R. (1997). Oviraptorosauria. Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (Currie, P. J.; Padian, K., eds.) 505-509. Academic Press. barsbold1997a
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
Redescription of the type material of Rinchenia mongoliensis.
funston2018a
Funston, G. F. (2019). Anatomy, systematics, and evolution of Oviraptorosauria (Dinosauria, Theropoda). 463-479. Doctoral thesis, University of Alberta.
PhD thesis; Chapter 4 (Oviraptoridae) gives an exhaustive description of the genus and type material.
funston2019a