| Aepyornithomimus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Metatarsals of MPC-D 100/130 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | †Ornithomimosauria |
| Family: | †Ornithomimidae |
| Genus: | †Aepyornithomimus Chinzoriget al.,2017 |
| Type species | |
| †Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis Chinzoriget al., 2017 | |
Aepyornithomimus (meaning "Aepyornis mimic") is a genus ofornithomimidtheropoddinosaur from theLate CretaceousDjadokhta Formation inMongolia. It lived in theCampanian, around 75 million years ago, when the area is thought to have been a desert. The type and only species isA. tugrikinensis.
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The holotype specimen,MPC-D 100/130, was discovered insediments at the Tögrögiin Shiree locality of theDjadokhta Formation, a locality that is interpreted to be composed ofsemi-arideolian sediments with irregular, light gray and cross-beddedsands andsandstones, by Shigeru Suzuki during a joint Japanese (HMNS)—Mongolian (IPG) paleontological expedition to theGobi Desert in 1994. The specimen consists of an almost complete articulated leftpes preserved with partialastragalus, completecalcaneum, and the lowertarsal III; it is now housed at the Institute of Paleontology and Geology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. MPC-D 100/130 was formally described in 2017 by paleontologistsTsogtbaatar Chinzorig,Yoshitsugu Kobayashi,Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar,Philip J. Currie,Mahito Watabe andRinchen Barsbold, giving name to the new ornithomimid taxonAepyornithomimus tugrikinensis. Thegeneric name,Aepyornithomimus, is derived from the largeratitesAepyornis and theLatin mimus (meaning mimic), in reference to the similar foot structure. Lastly,tugrikinensis refers to the locality of provenance, Tögrögiin Shiree.[1]
In a phylogenetic analysis,Aepyornithomimus was found to be a derived ornithomimosaur, closely related toStruthiomimus,Ornithomimus,Gallimimus, andAnserimimus. The exact systematics within this group of derived ornithomimids could not be resolved, but they were found to be closely related to theDeinocheiridae andArchaeornithomimus (which grouped with an unnamed taxon from theBissekty Formation). Morphologically, observations were made that it seemed transitional between the metatarsal condition in basal ornithomimosaurs and more derived ones, and it was suggested thatA. tugikinensis shows an intermediate condition.[1]
TheDjadokhta Formation whereAepyornithomimus was found was an arid eolian desert similar to the modernGobi Desert. Later in theCampanian age and into theMaastrichtian the climate would shift to the more humid fluvial environment seen in theNemegt Formation.A. tugrikinensis is the first diagnostic ornithomimosaur found in these earlier, drier deposits, and indicates the group could tolerate a variety of environmental conditions.[1]
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