The Nemegt Formation is composed of mudstones and sandstones that were deposited by ancient lakes, streams, and flood plains. The Altan Uul locality was described by Michael Novacek as "a canyon carved out of a very rich series of sedimentary rocks" with "steep cliffs and narrow washes". The climate associated with it was wetter than when preceding formations were deposited; there seems to have existed at least some degree of forest cover. Fossilized trunks have been also found. These petrified wood, and the remains of Araucariaceae conifers indicate that the forests of the Nemegt were thickly wooded, with a high canopy formed by tall conifer trees. When examined, the rock facies of this formation suggest the presence of stream and river channels, mudflats, and shallow lakes. Sediments also indicate that there existed a rich habitat, offering diverse food in abundant amounts that could sustain massive Cretaceous dinosaurs.[1][2]
Stratigraphy
The most recent stratigraphy divides the Nemegt Formation into three informal members. The lower member is dominated by fluvial deposits, while middle and upper members consist of alluvial plain, paludal, lacustrine, and fluvial deposits. The colour of the sediments is usually light grey to tan in colour in comparison to the typically red colour of the underlying Barun Goyot Formation.[3] It overlies and sometimes interfingers with the Barun Goyot Formation. Interfingering has been noted at the stratotype (Red Walls) and Hermiin Tsav.[3] There has been no absolute dating of the Nemegt Formation. Historically the Nemegt has been considered late Campanian to Maastrichtian, based on comparisons of fossils present, but no exact dating has been performed. The age for the underlying Baruungoyot Formation (= Svita) has been suggested as Santonian to Campanian, and Shuvalov (2000) found K-Ar dating of basalts that they referred to the mid and upper Baruungoyot to be 75 to 80 million years old.[4]
Paleobiota of the Nemegt Formation
Stratigraphic positions are based on Eberth (2018) who correlated localities to their approximate position within the formation.[3]
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^Sanchíz, B. (1998). "Salientia Part 4". In Wellnhofer, P.; Verlag, F. P. (eds.). Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie. Munich. pp. 1−275.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ abKim, S.-H.; Lee, Y.-N.; Park, J.-Y.; Lee, S.; Winkler, D. A.; Jacobs, L. L.; Barsbold, R. (2022). "A new species of Osteoglossomorpha (Actinopterygii: Teleostei) from the Upper Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia: Paleobiological and paleobiogeographic implications". Cretaceous Research. 135: 105214. Bibcode:2022CrRes.13505214K. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105214. S2CID247637952.
^ abcNewbrey, M. G.; Brinkman, D. B.; Winkler, D. A.; Freedman, E. A.; Neuman, A. G.; Fowler, D. W.; Woodward, H. N. (2013). "Teleost centrum and jaw elements from the Upper Cretaceous Nemegt Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian) of Mongolia and a re-identification of the fish centrum found with the theropod Raptorex kreigsteini". In Arratia, G.; Schultze, H.-S.; Wilson, M. V. H. (eds.). Mesozoic Fishes 5 – Global Diversity and Evolution. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil. pp. 291−303. ISBN978-3-89937-159-8.
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^Khosatzky, L. I. (1997). "Big turtle of the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 4 (2): 148–154. doi:10.30906/1026-2296-1997-4-2-148-154.
^ abMaleev, E. A. (1956). "Armored dinosaurs of the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia, Family Ankylosauridae". Trudy Palaeontologicheskoi Instytuta, Akademiia Nauk SSSR (in Russian). 62: 51–91. Translated paper
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^ abcNakajima, J.; Kobayashi, Y.; Chinzorig, T.; Tanaka, T.; Takasaki, R.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Currie, P. J.; Fiorillo, A. R. (2018). "Dinosaur tracks at the Nemegt locality: Paleobiological and paleoenvironmental implications". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 494: 147−159. Bibcode:2018PPP...494..147N. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.10.026.
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^ abcEvans, D. C.; Hayashi, S.; Chiba, K.; Watabe, M.; Ryan, M. J.; Lee, Y.-N.; Currie, P. J.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Barsbold, R. (2018). "Morphology and histology of new cranial specimens of Pachycephalosauridae (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Nemegt Formation, Mongolia". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 494: 121−134. Bibcode:2018PPP...494..121E. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.11.029.
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^ abcMartin, L. D.; Kurochkin, E. N.; Tokaryk, T. T. (2012). "A new evolutionary lineage of diving birds from the Late Cretaceous of North America and Asia". Palaeoworld. 21 (1): 59−63. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2012.02.005.
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^ abcNessov, L.; Borkin, L. J. (1983). "New records of bird bones from Cretaceous of Mongolia and Middle Asia". Trudy Zoologicheskogo Instituta AN SSSR. 116: 108–110.
^ abcdefK. E. Mikhailov. 1991. Classification of fossil eggshells of amniotic vertebrates. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 36(2):193-238
^ abCurrie, P. J. (2001). "Nomadic Expeditions, Inc., report of fieldwork in Mongolia, September 2000". Alberta Palaeontological Society, Fifth Annual Symposium, Abstract Volume. Calgary: Mount Royal College. pp. 12−–16.
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^Currie, P. J.; Longrich, N. R.; Ryan, M.; Eberth, D.; Demchig, B. (2008). "A bonebed of Avimimus sp. (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Formation, Gobi Desert: Insights into social behavior and development in a maniraptoran theropod". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (supp. 003): 67A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2008.10010459.
^ abcLee, H.-J.; Lee, Y.-N.; Adams, T. L.; Currie, P. J.; Kobayashi, Y.; Jacobs, L. L.; Koppelhus, E. B. (2018). "Theropod trackways associated with a Gallimimus foot skeleton from the Nemegt Formation, Mongolia". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 494: 160−167. Bibcode:2018PPP...494..160L. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.10.020.
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^ abKurzanov, S. M. (1981). "An unusual theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia". Transactions of the Joint Soviet Mongolian Paleontological Expedition. 15: 39−–49.
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^Weishampel, D. B.; Fastovsky, D. E.; Watabe, M.; Varricchio, D.; Jackson, F.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Barsbold, R. (2008). "New oviraptorid embryos from Bugin Tsav, Nemegt Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Mongolia, with insights into their habitat and growth". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (4): 1110–1119. Bibcode:2008JVPal..28.1110W. doi:10.1671/0272-4634-28.4.1110. JSTOR20491042. S2CID84712926.
^ abLü, J.; Tomida, Y.; Azuma, Y.; Dong, Z.; Lee, Y.-N. (2005). "Nemegtomaia gen. nov., a replacement name for the oviraptorosaurian dinosaur Nemegtia Lü et al. 2004, a preoccupied name". Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Tokyo, Series C. 31: 51.
^ abBarsbold, R. (1997). "Oviraptorosauria". In Currie, P. J.; Padian, K. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Oxford, UK: Academic Press. pp. 505–508.
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^ abRozhdestvensky, A. K. (1965). "Growth changes in Asian dinosaurs and some problems of their taxonomy". Paleontological Journal (in Russian). 3: 95−109.
^"Dinosaurs - Tarbosaurus bataar". Australian Museum. 1 William Street Sydney NSW 2010 Australia: New South Wales Government. October 29, 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)