Prehistoric Wild: Life in the Mesozoic

Union of Two Oddities (96 MYA)

Iren Dabasu Formation, China, 96 Million Years Ago

In the heart of eastern Asia lies what is now Inner Mongolia. Here, in the upper east of China, the landscape borders the vast territories of its northern neighbor. This is not the dry land of our modern day. The shifting sands and drought-resistant grass are a far cry compared to this area in the Late Cretaceous.

Here lies a vast array of braided rivers. From high above, they appear like the roots and branches of a tree, spreading and scattering in various directions. Some even connect and crossover with one another. Seed shrimp gather in large quantities within the waterways to feed on freshwater algae.

Surrounding the babbling waters of these streams is a wide array of lush, green vegetation. The tallest among them are needled conifer trees whose pine cones are just beginning to sprout. Early angiosperms resembling today's walnut and mistletoe trees come close in size to the conifers. These are joined by their most common modern descendants, primitive flowers. Their tiny pedals are a simple white but are the beginnings of the many colors they'll eventually come in. These proto-flowers are mixed in with an abundant undergrowth of ferns and cycads.

Such a plethora of vegetation draws a variety of herbivorous animals to this warm, humid land for feeding. One of these spends most of its time around the trees. It's a Neimongosaurus, a member of the therizinosaur family of bipedal dinosaurs. Standing at nearly 5 feet tall with a length of 10 feet and weighing 500 pounds, it's rather small compared to the rest of its peculiar family. It does still sport a heavy, pot-bellied body and short tail supported by well-developed hindlimbs like its cousins. A small head with a horny beak full of leaf-shaped teeth rests at the top of an elongated neck. Like its larger cousins, it sports long arms with large claws at the tips of all three of its fingers.

Much of its body is covered in shaggy, hair-like feathers that are various shades of brown, black, and gray. Only its hands, face, and legs lack this plumage, showing a tan, scaly skin. Its beak is also vacant in feathers and dark gray.

Neimongosaurus, as with other therizinosaurs, spends its days browsing off the branches of the abundant trees around it. Some appear out of reach of this herbivore's mouth, despite its long-reaching neck. Thankfully, its arms can stretch out long enough to grab many of these branches and pull them toward its head.

There is also another purpose to the Neimongosaur's clawed appendages. Occasionally, it would scratch away the bark on trees, exposing the many grubs and insects nestled inside. It then uses its tongue to lap them up before sucking them into its mouth for ingestion. This strategy allows it to gain extra proteins that would otherwise be missed if it were to strictly stick to herbivory.

Such a peaceful feasting will unfortunately not last long. Snaps, creaks, and rustles fill the air in the grove, prompting the Neimongosaurus to freeze mid-browsing. It turns its head to the left to see a thick batch of vegetation shaking in rhythm with the noises. Thudding footsteps join these noises as parts of a mysterious animal start to be seen in the greenery. With a deep, bellowing squawk, the creature emerges from the growth.

This is Yichen, a male Gigantoraptor. He is a member of the bird-like oviraptorosaur clade of dinosaurs. Standing 16 feet tall and weighing one and a half tons, he is also the largest of the family. This massive figure is carried by a pair of long hind limbs with feet that sport four toes, the first of which is reduced. Elongated arms grow from his thick, short body, ending in three fingers with curved claws. His tail is not very elongated and terminates in a wide fan of feathers. A lengthy, ostrich-like neck helps to support his avian-esque head. Both of his jaws are toothless and in a sharp, keratinous beak.

His body is nearly entirely covered in a thick coat of feathers. The base of them is primarily mossy green with emerald pigments on the tips of his tail fan and arms. Long, bright scarlet feathers adorn the top of his head, forming a comb-shaped structure. Lemon-yellow plumage covers his chest and the underside of his stomach. Such tuft is absent from his legs and hands, instead showing scaly skin, stained in a mix of copper and russet browns. The hard beak on its jaws is completely black. He also has a strange, deflated sac hanging from his throat, stained in bright, vivid scarlet.