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The
Desert at Night
Visitors
are introduced first to a striking diorama of the region
now known as Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia, as it may have looked
some 80 million years ago. Discovered in 1993 by a team
of scientists from the American Museum of Natural History
and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the site at Ukhaa
Tolgod has proved to be one of the world's richest locations
for vertebrate fossils dating from near the end of the
age of dinosaurs. The large diorama — 50' wide and
11' high and created especially for the exhibition —
sets the stage for visitors: it provides a vivid snapshot
of life during the Late Cretaceous period (between 65
to 90 million years ago), featuring actual-size models
of some of the species that lived in the Gobi so long
ago.
Some
dinosaurs found in this scene:
Protoceratops
Model
[Click image to enlarge] |
Protoceratops
| No larger than a sheep, Protoceratops
fed exclusively on plants, as did its larger and more
familiar North American relative, Triceratops.
A distinctive feature of Protoceratops is its bony
neck frill, which may have been used by Protoceratops
to defend itself against predators. Or this feature may
have helped Protoceratops attract a mate or scare
off challengers of the same species, much as a deer uses
its antlers.
Velociraptor
Model
[Click image to enlarge]
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Velociraptor
| A member of the dromaeosaur group, Velociraptor
shared a number of features with modern birds, including
feathers. Although only the size of a coyote, Velociraptor
was one of the chief predators here.
Its deadliest weapon, though, was the huge talon on each
of its hind feet, with which it could rip into the flesh
of a victim.
Oviraptorid
| A group of dinosaurs closely related to birds,
oviraptorid were nurturing parents that may have continued
to care for their offspring after they hatched. Recent
evidence indicates it had feathers. Its head crest, which
resembles that of a modern hornbill, may have served to
attract a mate.
>
The Desert at Night
> Understanding the Past
> Fossil Preservation in the Gobi
> The Diversity of Life
>
The Fighting Dinosaurs
> Birds: Living Dinosaurs
> The Rise of Mammals
>
Digging Up Dinosaurs
Photos
© AMNH
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