Rinchenia

*Rinchenia mongoliensis*

***Rinchenia*** is a genus of Mongolian oviraptorid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period. The type (and only known) species, *Rinchenia mongoliensis*, was originally classified as a species within the genus *Oviraptor* (named *Oviraptor mongoliensis* by Rinchen Barsbold in 1986), but a re-examination by Barsbold in 1997 found differences significant enough to warrant a separate genus. The name *Rinchenia* was coined for this new genus by Barsbold in 1997, though he did not describe it in detail, and the name remained a nomen nudum until used by Osmólska et al. in 2004.

## Description

*Rinchenia* is known from a single specimen (GI 100/32A) consisting of a complete skull and lower jaw, partial vertebral column, partial forelimbs and shoulder girdle, partial hind limbs and pelvis, and a furcula ("wishbone"). While *Rinchenia* was about the same size as *Oviraptor* (about 1.5 meters, or 5 ft long), several features of its skeleton, especially in the skull, show it to be distinct. Its skeleton was more lightly built and less robust than that of *Oviraptor*, and while the crest of *Oviraptor* is indistinct because of poor fossil preservation, *Rinchenia* had a well-preserved, highly developed, dome-like casque which incorporated many bones in the skull that are free of the crest in *Oviraptor*.

## Discovery

During 1984, a nearly complete oviraptorid skeleton was discovered at the Altan Uul II (or Altan Ula II) locality of the highly fossiliferous Nemegt Formation, Gobi Desert. This newly collected specimen, **MPC-D 100/32-A**, included the skull and lower jaws in their entirety, nearly complete vertebral column, forelimbs with shoulder girdle, and partial hindlimbs with pelvic girdle. Later on, Mongolian paleontologist Rinchen Barsbold in 1986 used the specimen to erect and describe a new species of *Oviraptor*: *Oviraptor mongoliensis*. Barsbold in 1997 assigned a new genus for the specimen, namely *Rinchenia*. Although concluding that it was distinctly different from *Oviraptor* in both skull and skeleton characters, Barsbold did not include a formal diagnosis for this new taxon. Halszka Osmólska with colleagues in 2004 during their large revision of several dinosaur clades preferred the combination *R. mongoliensis* over the previously named *O. mongoliensis*, also regarding the latter as a synonym.

In 2018, Gregory F. Funston and team conducted a comprehensive revision of the at-the-time known oviraptorosaur taxa across the Barun Goyot Formation and Nemegt Formation, where they formally described, photographed, and diagnosed *Rinchenia* based on the assigned holotype MPC-D 100/32-A. The team also stated that even though the locality of the holotype is known, the exact site of discovery and horizon remains unknown. Funston in his 2019 master thesis described in extensive detail the holotype of *Rinchenia*, along with other oviraptorids, where he provided additional data regarding the name of the taxon. The generic name, *Rinchenia*, is in honor of Byambyn Rinchen, veteran linguist and father of Barsbold. The specific name, *mongoliensis*, refers to the country where the holotype was found: Mongolia.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Rinchenia looked exactly like an Oviraptor. In fact, many scientists believe that it was an Oviraptor. The main difference between the two dinosaurs seems to be the shape of the crest on the top of its head, and how some of the bones that attached to this crest were formed. It was a swift hunter, but there is still debate about what it hunted based on its strange beak and head, and it most likely had feathers.

A bit more lightly built than the other Asian Oviraptor, the debate goes on as to this dinosaur's classification. In recent studies of Oviraptor, it appears that each individual would have had a different crest shape and size. North American members of this family discovered to date are considerably larger than their Asian cousins. It is possible that Rinchenia merely exhibits individual traits and is in fact an Oviraptor. As of this writing, it has not been formally described.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* *Rinchenia* appears in *Jurassic World: Alive* as an Epic.

## Links

https://web.archive.org/web/20040214172340fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_rinch.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20080720025336/http://kids.yahoo.com/dinosaurs/167--Rinchenia

## References

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