Name:
Rinchenia (after paleontologist Rinchen Barsbold); pronounced RIN-cheh-NEE-ah
Habitat:
Plains of Central Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (75 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 6 feet long and 100 pounds
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Large head crest; powerful jaws
About Rinchenia:
Paleontologists don't usually go about naming new dinosaurs after themselves; in fact, Rinchen Barsbold thought he was kidding when he temporarily named this newly discovered Oviraptor-like theropod Rinchenia, and the name stuck. Judging by its incomplete skeleton, this feathered, central Asian dino-bird appears to have sported a larger-than-average head crest, and its powerful jaws hint that it may have pursued an omnivorous diet, consisting of hard-to-crack nuts as well as insects, vegetables, and other small dinosaurs.
