Fun Nemegtosaurus Facts For Kids

Nemegtosaurus is a type of dinosaur species whose remains were found in the Late Cretaceous, which is now known as Mongolia. The meaning of the name Nemegtosaurus is 'Reptile from the Nemegt' or 'Nemegt lizard'.

The first type of species known as Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis was described by the scientist Nowinski in 1971. Later, in 1977, Dong described the second type species, N. pachi based on the IVPP V.4879 teeth. The taxonomy of N. mongoliensis is Dinosauria, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Diplodocoidea, and Nemegtosauridae.

The diet of both dinosaurs (Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis and N. pachi) is unknown. Remains indicate that they had long, strong teeth.

At present, there are two known sauropod dinosaurs in the Upper Cretaceous Nemegt Formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia: Nemegetosaurus from the Nemegt region (where it got its name) and Opisthocoelicaudia in the Altan Uvl IV region.

Both taxa are expressed by elements that do not overlap (the skull and part of the posterior skeleton, respectively), which raised questions about their possible synonyms.

In 1949, the Mongolian expedition of the Academy of Sciences discovered five articulated sauropod dorsal vertebrae (dorsal vertebrae 6-10) in the Nemegt region.

This specimen is comparable to Opisthocoelicaudia, with a strong abdominal ridge in the center of the back, a low neural arch, which is narrower at the front (centrum) and rear of the junction with the center and widens on the dorsal side.

The difference between the femur of the sauropod of the Nemegt group and the femur of Opisthocoelicaudia is that the medial condyle expands distally compared to the lateral condyle.

Most possibly, these femurs and PIN 3837/P821 are of Nemegtosaurus, which will distinguish this taxon from Opisthocoelicaudia by the above features of the dorsal vertebrae and femur.

For many more interesting facts about dinosaurs species, you can also visit these: Zuniceratops and Crichtonsaurus facts.

Nemegtosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce Nemegtosaurus?

The pronunciation of Nemegtosaurus is 'Neh-meg-toe-sore-us.' The name was given by Nowinski in 1971, and the meaning of the name is Nemegt lizard.

What type of dinosaur was a Nemegtosaurus?

The Nemegtosaurus dinosaur king was a titanosaur that was closely related to other dinosaurs like the Alamosaurus, Saltasaurus, and Rapetosaurus. This dinosaur was named 'Nemegtosaurus' by the scientist Nowinski (1971), which means 'Nemegt lizard'. There were two known types of the genus: N. mongoliensis and N. pachi.

What geological period did the Nemegtosaurus roam the earth in?

The Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis and N. pachi were sauropod dinosaurs that lived in the Late Cretaceous time period (Mongolia).

When did the Nemegtosaurus become extinct?

The Nemegtosaurus used to live in the Campanian to Maastrichtian ages of the Cretaceous time Period that went extinct about 72-68 million years ago. Therefore, both Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis and N. pachi are extinct sauropods.

Where did a Nemegtosaurus live?

Nemegtosaurus belongs to the sauropods clan, also known as Nemegt lizard dinosaur thrived in the Late Cretaceous time period, which is now known as Mongolia. This sauropods dinosaur was named after a place in the Gobi Desert known as Nemegt Basin.

It is the place where the remains (only a single skull) of the dinosaur were found. The skull fossil was found in the year 1971 but later in 1949, vertebrae of the same time period were discovered.

What was a Nemegtosaurus's habitat?

Nemegtosaurus was found in the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia. It makes the dinosaur one of the last sauropods on earth. It would probably have lived near a lush river delta flowing through the old sands of the Gobi Desert with many different animals and other dinosaurs. However, the diet of the dinosaur is unclear.

Who did a Nemegtosaurus live with?

Nemegtosaurus would have lived with ancient animals such as the alvarezsaurid Mononykus, the giant, saber-clawed therizinosaur Therizinosaurus, the ornithomimid Gallimimus, and velociraptorine Adasaurus in the ancient sands of the Gobi Desert. It definitely co-existed with the tyrannosaur Tarbosaurus.

How long did a Nemegtosaurus live?

The life span of the Nemegtosaurus is unknown as it is only known from remains (a skull of Nemegtosaurus and mandible). It is really difficult to estimate the lifespan of a dinosaur with so few bones.

How did they reproduce?

There is no information available about the reproduction in Nemegtosaurus dinosaurs as only a fossil of the skull of Nemegtosaurus was found in Mongolia. They probably reproduced through laying eggs.

Nemegtosaurus Fun Facts

What did a Nemegtosaurus look like?

Nemegtosaurus was a Sauropoda whose fossil - a single skull - was found in the Gobi Desert. The skull of Nemegtosaurus indicated that the dinosaur's head was similar to that of the diplodocoids with a long body length and low, pencil-like teeth.

These teeth were sharp at the bottom angle to produce a chisel-like tip. Although, previous work has shown that the Nemegtosaurus is a type of titanosaur.

Its scleral rings, in comparison to modern reptiles and birds, hint that the dinosaur must have been cathemeral, which means it was active throughout the day for short periods.

From the fossil analysis, the dinosaur's body length is estimated to have been between 40-50 ft (12.2-15.2 m) long. Such a long body would have certainly provided protection against predators, such as the Tarbosaurus.

The dinosaur had a massive skeleton structure with a weight of about 20 tons (18143.7 kg), often identified by long tails and necks. Some of the Nemegtosaurus dinosaurs were the largest animals at that time on the earth.

The Nemegtosaurus skull was found from the same bed from where the Titanosaur Opisthocoelicaudia was found, which is known as a dinosaur skeleton lacking a neck and skull. Initially, Nemegtosaurus dinosaur was classified as Diplodocus, and Opisthocoelicaudia was classified as Camarasaurus, thinking that the two represented different species.

However, both dinosaurs represent the advanced Titanosaurus, increasing the possibility that the two are actually the same creature.

The relocation of the Nemegtosaurus type site to Central Satyr and the discovery of a posterior skull equivalent to the Opisthocoelicaudia model at the Nemegtosaurus model site revealed the possibility that Opisthocoelicaudia is a secondary synonym. Therefore, Opisthocoelicaudiinae will be a secondary synonym for Nemegtosauridae.

How many bones did a Nemegtosaurus have?

The exact number of bones in the Nemegtosaurus skeleton is unknown, as only a single fossil skull was found in the Gobi desert.

How did they communicate?

No information is available regarding the communication rituals of the Nemegtosaurus dinosaurs.

How big was a Nemegtosaurus?

The length of Nemegtosaurus was between 40-50 ft (12.2-15.2 m) long, which is similar to a bowhead whale.

How fast could a Nemegtosaurus move?

The speed of the Nemegtosaurus dinosaur is not completely known. However, they are believed to have had the same speed as the reticulated giraffe.

How much did a Nemegtosaurus weigh?

The estimated weight of the Nemegtosaurus sauropoda dinosaur was 20 tons (18143.7 kg). They weighed 20 times more than the Sumatran elephant.

What were the male and female names of the species?

No specific names were given to male and female Nemegtosaurus dinosaurs.

What would you call a baby Nemegtosaurus?

The baby Nemegtosaurus would have been known as a young Nemegtosaurus.

What did they eat?

The diet of Nemegtosaurus consists of plants, as they were herbivores. There are no fossil plants in the Gobi Desert now, but in the Late Cretaceous Period, Angiosperms (flowering plants) became more diverse - although ferns and conifers were still more common in many regions.

It is unclear if Nemegtosaurus foraged in tall trees or grazes on short plants. The related Titanosaurus includes long-necked exploration forms (like Rapetosaurus) and short-necked forms (like Bonitasaura).

How aggressive were they?

No information is available on the aggression level of Nemegtosaurus dinosaurs.

Did you know...

The classification of Nemegtosaurus is as follows: Dinosauria (clade), Saurischia (clade), Sauropodomorpha (clade), Sauropoda (clade), Eusauropoda (clade), Neosauropoda (clade), Diplodocoidea (clade), Nemegtosauridae (Family), and Nemegtosaurus (Genus).

Difference between Nemegtosaurids and a Nemegtosaurus?

Nemegtosaurus is a type of Nemegtosauridae, which is a type of sauropoda Dinosaur family. It isn't easy to differentiate between the Nemegtosaurus and other Nemegtosaurids, as little data is available about the Nemegtosaurus dinosaur.

What's special about the Nemegtosaurus?

Nemegtosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs in its time period. The Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis definition is 'Nemegt lizard'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Metriorhynchus facts and Tupuxuara facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Nemegtosaurus coloring pages.

Second image by Adrian Grycuk.