Page 71 - DINOSOUR ATLAS

Gobi Desert asia
72
Ulaanbaatar
(Ulan Bator)
Hangayn Nuruu N
M O G O L I A
Locked inside the sandstones of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, are incredibly
well-preserved dinosaur fossils of the Late Cretaceous. A stretch of Govi Altayn Nuruu Khuren Dukh i
rock 6 miles (10 km) long has yielded a snapshot of animal life from Olgoi Bayan Shire t
Ulan Tsav
Udan Sayr Tugriign Us
75 million years ago, when the region was dry and sandy with little Nemegetu o b e r
water. Oviraptor nested here, Velociraptor was the hunter, and herds Altan Ula Khulsan Flaming Cliffs s
G
of Protoceratops grazed on the low-lying ground, only to be C H I N A D e Maortu
(Yellow)
entombed by sandstorms. Today, fossilized bones, eggs, and Huang He Baotou
nests are found in the fire-red rocks of the Flaming Cliffs site.
u site location
Some of the best Cretaceous fossil sites in the
, oViraPtor
world are found in the Gobi Desert, including the
A carnivorous dinosaur, Flaming Cliffs site—a major source of dinosaur fossils.
Oviraptor had a birdlike
appearance. It lived in
groups, and built nests in the
desert sand, which it seems to , galliMiMUs
have sat on to keep its eggs
warm until they hatched. This dinosaur belonged to the ornithomimid
(bird mimic) group of dinosaurs. It had long
legs, a toothless beak, and slender arms
with grasping hands. Large eyes suggest
d VelociraPtor Gallimimus had a good sense of vision.
At Tugriign Us, fossils of a Velociraptor fighting a It ate both plants and meat.
Protoceratops were discovered. Both seemed to have died in a sudden
oviRaptoR laid clutches sandstorm while still locked in combat. Velociraptor would
of 15 to 20 eggs, have been a deadly predator. It was armed with jaws that
arranged in a circle
held about 80 sharp teeth, and a sickle-shaped claw on Long, naRRow
each foot for slashing its victims. jaws designed
for biting and
pulling at flesh

roy chapman andrews

u gobi desert
The Gobi Desert of central
Asia stretches for 1,000 miles
(1,600 km) across southeast Between 1919 and 1930, Roy
Mongolia and northern China. Chapman Andrews (1884–1960)
It is an arid, inhospitable led expeditions to the Gobi Desert,
landscape, where temperatures where he discovered the first-known
are well below freezing at night, fossilized dinosaur nests, and new
then become baking hot in dinosaurs, including Protoceratops.
the daytime sun.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3
ProtoceratoPs .
A ceratopsian (horned face), fRont Legs bent at the
Protoceratops lived in herds, grazing on plants. elbow, enabling the Right fRont foot and left Left fRont foot and right back foot followed
It’s thought to have been a slow walker, but dinosaur to steer, while the back foot moved at about to complete the walking sequence—in this way,
like other ceratopsians it might have sprinted at hind legs were held straight the same time when walking the dinosaur always had two feet on the ground
15 mph (25 kph) in short bursts to escape from danger.