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. 2017 Jul 19;7(1):5835.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-05272-6.

First Ornithomimid (Theropoda, Ornithomimosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation of Tögrögiin Shiree, Mongolia

Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig  1   2 , Yoshitsugu Kobayashi  3 , Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar  4 , Philip J Currie  5 , Mahito Watabe  6 , Rinchen Barsbold  4
Affiliations

First Ornithomimid (Theropoda, Ornithomimosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation of Tögrögiin Shiree, Mongolia

Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig et al. Sci Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

The Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation has been intensively surveyed for its fossil vertebrate fauna for nearly a century. Amongst other theropods, dromaeosaurids and parvicursorines are common in the formation, but ornithomimosaurs are extremely rare. A new ornithomimosaur material was discovered from the Djadokhta Formation, represented by eolian deposits, of the Tögrögiin Shiree locality, Mongolia. This is only the third ornithomimosaur specimen reported from this formation, and includes the astragalus, the calcaneum, the third distal tarsal, and a complete pes. The new material is clearly belonged to Ornithomimidae by its arctometatarsalian foot condition and has the following unique characters; unevenly developed pair of concavities of the third distal tarsal, curved contacts between the proximal ends of second and fourth metatarsals, the elongate fourth digit, and a laterally inclined medial condyle on phalanx IV-1. These diagnostic characters of the Djadokhtan ornithomimosaur indicate that this is a new taxon. Our phylogenetic analysis supports three clades within derived ornithomimosaurs, and the new taxon is placed a member of the derived ornithomimosaurs. The present specimen is the first ornithomimid record from eolian Tögrögiin Shiree locality, and is indicative of their capability to adapt to arid environments.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis. (a), Stratigraphic chart of ornithomimosaurs from Mongolia. (b), Location map. (◊), capital of Mongolia; (Δ), the position of type locality, Tögrögiin Shiree; (•), nearby other localities. Location map modified after Watabe et al..
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ankle joint elements of Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis. (a–d), the astragalus, (e–f), the calcaneum, and (g–h), the third distal tarsal, including line drawings. (a), in anterior, (b,g), in proximal, (c,h), in distal, (d), in posterior, (e), in medial, and (f), in lateral views. Abbreviations: (Aff), the anterior region of the fibular facet; (Ca), calcaneum insertion of the astragalus; (Ff), fibular facet; (Ics), intercondylar sulcus; (Lc), lateral condyle; (Mc), medial condyle; (Pt), protuberance; (T), tubercle.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Metatarsals of Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis. (a), in anterior, (b), in posterior, (c), in medial, and (d), in lateral views. Abbreviations: (Mt II, Mt III, and Mt IV), the second, the third, and the fourth metatarsals.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Phalanges of Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis. (a), in dorsal, (b), in ventral, (c), in lateral, and (d), in medial views. Abbreviations: (II-1 to IV-5), phalangeal series of the second, the third, and the fourth digits.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparisons of ornithomimosaur metatarsals. (a–e), “arctometatarsalian” condition, (f–i), “non-arctometatarsalian” condition, Abbreviations: (II), the second metatarsal with comparison of the distal expansion, (III), the third metatarsal, and (IV), the fourth metatarsal, and (▶), degrees of the medial expansion of each taxon (Supplementary Table S2).
Figure 6
Figure 6
The articulated views of metatarsals, the first phalanx (IV-1) of digit IV, and the ungual phalanges of Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis. (a), in proximal end, and (b), in distal end of metatarsals. (c–l), Phalanges IV-1, II-3, III-4, and IV-5 – (c,i), in lateral, (d,j), in medial, (e,k), in dorsal, (f,l), in ventral, (g), in proximal, and (h), in distal views. Abbreviations: (Ddt), facet of the distal tarsals; (Ft), flexor tubercle; (Icg), intercondylar groove; (Lc), lateral condyle; (Mc), medial condyle; (Mt II, Mt III, Mt IV), the second, the third, and the fourth metatarsals; (II-3, III-4, IV-5), ungual phalanges of the digits.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Strict consensus tree of the phylogenetic relationships of Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis within the Coelurosauria. Explanation: (-I, -2….9), Bremer supports, (○), Ornithomimosauria, and (∙), Ornithomimidae.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Comparative graph and restoration drawing of Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis. (a), Different proportions of the three metatarsals is represented by ternary diagram (Supplementary Table S1), (b), Illustration is drawn by Mr. Masato Hattori. Abbreviations: (Mt II), the metatarsal II, (Mt III), the metatarsal III, and (Mt III), the metatarsal III, (Ω), Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis, (Δ), basal ornithomimosaurs, (Π), deinocheirids, (†), ornithomimids.
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