Survey and Study of Late Cretaceous Terrestrial Vertebrates from the Gobi Desert of Mongolia

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This project will continue a survey and inventory of the famous Late Cretaceous Flaming Cliffs deposits in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, site of the Central Asiatic Expeditions in the 1920s. Three previous expeditions by the AMNH has succeeded in recovering a wealth of well-preserved tetrapod vertebrates, especially theropod dinosaurs, mammals, and a new lineage of extraordinary flightless birds with mole-like adaptations for digging. These expeditions have also mapped old and new localities using GPS. Specimen and locality/geological information for the 10,000 specimens will be entered in a computer database. Cooperation with Mongolian authorities and scientists is excellent and includes field work in Mongolia and long-term study visits of Mongolian scientists to the AMNH. %%% This project will continue a survey of the fossil mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds from the famous Late Cretaceous dinosaur beds in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. This survey is revisiting the sites of the Central Asiatic Expeditions in the 1920s, which first discovered dinosaur egg nests and other important fossils. Three previous expeditions by this current survey team has succeeded in recovering a wealth of well-preserved fossil vertebrates, especially theropod dinosaurs, mammals, and a new lineage of extraordinary flightless birds with mole-like adaptations for digging. Cooperation with Mongolian authorities and scientists is excellent and includes field work in Mongolia and long-term study visits of Mongolian scientists at the American Museum in New York. Study of the fossils recovered by these expeditions will help elucidate the nature of dinosaur extinctions and climate change 65 million years ago.