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.