NATOVENATOR POLYDONTUS -
SCIENCE
News: Natovenator
polydontus: A goose-necked dinosaur from Mongolia, built like a diving bird
What's in the news?
● The
dinosaur, called Natovenator polydontus,
lived about 72 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period and was built like a diving bird with a streamlined body while possessing a goose-like
elongated neck and a long-flattened snout with a mouth bearing more than 100
small teeth, scientists said it. It almost surely was covered in feathers, they
added.
Key takeaways:
● Its
well-preserved remains - a skeleton about 70% complete - were unearthed in the Gobi Desert, which over the decades has
been a treasure trove for dinosaur fossils.
● Natovenator
is part of the dinosaur group called
theropods - sharing traits including bipedalism
- best known for large meat-eaters including Tyrannosaurus, Tarbosaurus and
Giganotosaurus.
● But
the theropods, many of which were feathered,
branched out in unusual directions with examples such as long-clawed ground
sloth-like Therizinosaurus, ostrich-like Struthiomimus, termite-eating
Mononykus and the entire bird lineage.
● Natovenator
measured about 18 inches (45 cm) long, with a skull about 3 inches (7 cm) long.
● Its
front limbs appeared somewhat
flattened, perhaps as an adaptation for
paddling and swimming.
● The
streamlining of its body is shown by ribs that point toward the tail, as in
diving birds, an arrangement that reduces drag in the water and allows
efficient swimming.