gobi finds

[Thomas_R_HOLTZ@umail.umd.edu (th81)]

RE:  Mononykus

No, there are no feathers - the Djadochta Formation is an aeolian
(wind-formed) sandstone, not the sort of sediment which lends itself to the
preservation of feather imprints.  The crew at the American Museum are
convinced that Mononykus is a bird more advanced than Archaeopteryx, but
most of the rest of both the dinosaur and ornithological community have yet
to be swayed.  Its an interesting little critter (I've seen some of the
specimens), but a bird....  Well, maybe.

RE:  Dino extinction

I'm not quite sure what the folks were talking about there.  To my
knowledge, the youngest dinosaurs in Asia (the Nemegt Formation and its
equivalent) are from the early to middle Maastrichtian, and thus about 4 my
older than the K-T boundary.  In fact, I know that for a while Norell and
Novacek were suggesting that the Nemegt was even older (late Campanian),
although I don't know if they still hold with that.

Hope this helps.

Thomas R. HOLTZ
Vertebrate Paleontologist, Dept. of Geology
Email:Thomas_R_HOLTZ@umail.umd.edu (th81)
Phone:301-405-4084