page_title: Nemegtomaia
section_title: Taphonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Nemegtomaia / Palaeoecology / Taphonomy
caption_attribution_description: Feeding traces left by colonies of dermestid beetles in Nemegtomaia barsboldi specimen MPC-D 107/15. Articular surfaces have been completely obliterated in the left forearm (A), left leg and pes (B), as well as in the right forearm (C). Circular borings are particularly evident in the left side of the skull (D–F). G, Bone-chip burrow found under the skull of the specimen. H, large traces of reworked sediment under the skeleton.
context_page_description: Nemegtomaia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from what is now Mongolia that lived in the Late Cretaceous Period, about 70 million years ago. The first specimen was found in 1996, and became the basis of the new genus and species N. barsboldi in 2004. The original genus name was Nemegtia, but this was changed to Nemegtomaia in 2005, as the former name was preoccupied. The first part of the generic name refers to the Nemegt Basin, where the animal was found, and the second part means "good mother", in reference to the fact that oviraptorids are known to have brooded their eggs. The specific name honours the palaeontologist Rinchen Barsbold. Two more specimens were found in 2007, one of which was found on top of a nest with eggs, but the dinosaur had received its genus name before it was found associated with eggs.
  Nemegtomaia is estimated to have been around 2 m in length, and to have weighed 40 kg. As an oviraptorosaur, it would have been feathered. It had a deep, narrow, and short skull, with an arched crest. It was toothless, had a short snout with a parrot-like beak, and a pair of tooth-like projections on its palate.
context_section_description: The nesting specimen MPC-D 107/15 has provided much information about the taphonomic processes (changes during decay and fossilisation) in the Baruungoyot Formation. The specimen is preserved in facies that are thought to have been deposited through a sandstorm or dune-shift. It does not seem to have been transported after death, but the body appears to have shifted slightly to the right, indicating the sediment in which it was deposited came towards it from its left side. The neck is curved to the left, the left hand is folded backwards, and the legs are folded into a crouching position. The vertebral column, neck, and hips deteriorated during burial, and much of the damage to the skeleton is thought to have been caused by the activity of invertebrates.
  Borings in the bones, burrows, and reworked sediments (perhaps caused by the construction of pupal chambers) in the specimen indicate it was scavenged upon by colonies of skin beetles (Dermestidae) and perhaps other scavenging insects. There are many feeding traces in the joints of the skeleton, and almost all the surfaces where the bones articulated have been obliterated. There are also tunnels in the nest under the neck and skull, and no egg remains have been found in parts with such traces. Modern skin beetles mainly feed on muscle tissue but not on moist materials, and their activity is prevented by rapid burial. It is therefore thought that specimen MPC-D 107/15 was only partially buried at first, with the upper part being exposed enough for a colony of skin beetles to develop. Some damage to the skeleton (especially in the vertebral column) may also have been caused by the scavenging of small mammals.
caption: Feeding traces from skin beetles on the nesting specimen
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