On December 2nd, the reporter learned from the Inner Mongolia Department of Natural Resources that an early Cretaceous dinosaur specimen collected in Alxa Left Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has been identified as a new group of Oviraptorosaurus - the Centennial Mandarin Duck Dragon. This latest research achievement was recently published in the international academic journal "Cretaceous Research". This is the research achievement of researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Inner Mongolia Natural History Museum for more than three years. It is reported that in 2021, researchers from Inner Mongolia Natural History Museum discovered two relatively complete and adjacent dinosaur skeleton fossils at the field investigation site of Mao'ertu Dashuigou in Alxa Left Banner. In the following three years, researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Inner Mongolia Natural History Museum jointly carried out field surveys. Through collection, restoration, CT scanning reconstruction, laser scanning and other studies, two dinosaur skeleton fossils were found to be from the Early Cretaceous more than 100 million years ago. Due to the presence of two relatively complete and closely adjacent individuals in the fossil specimen, the genus name is "Mandarin Duck", and the species name "Centennial" commemorates the 100th anniversary of the naming of Oviraptorosaurus dinosaurs. After research, the morphological characteristics of the Centennial Mandarin Duck Dragon are different from other known members of the Oviraptorosauria, representing a relatively small new group of Oviraptorosauria. Prior to this, most known oviraptorosaurs originated from the Late Cretaceous, with relatively few species and limited distribution to the Jehol Biota in western Liaoning. The discovery of the century old mandarin duck dragon has added new members to the Early Cretaceous Oviraptorids and expanded their geographical distribution. The Centennial Mandarin Duck Dragon, with a body length of less than 1 meter, belongs to the small theropod dinosaur and is a feathered dinosaur closely related to birds. In terms of skeletal morphology, the most prominent feature of the century old mandarin duck dragon is its long hind legs, which are considered good at running. However, the muscles in the hind legs are not well-developed, and they may not be very good at running. "This combination of characteristics seems contradictory, but like modern wading birds, centennial mandarin duck dragon has wading habits. This discovery provides new evidence for us to understand the ecological diversity of dinosaurs." Dr. Hao Mingze, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said. In addition to bones, stomach stones were also found in the fossils of the century old mandarin duck dragon, indicating that they swallowed small stones and stored them in the digestive tract like modern birds, helping to grind food. At present, the study of the hundred year old mandarin duck dragon is still in the stage of morphological research, and the skeletal features of the skull fossils have not been fully revealed. (New Society)