Yesterday’s Animals...
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desert
n the Gobi desert, numerous dinosaur species were discovered, which were unknown to science, and which contributed to cast new light on the history of reptiles and mammals, which lived during the Mesozoic era. Worth of mentioning are, in particular, the Protoceratops, primitive horned dinosaur, the Syrmosaurus, armoured dinosaur, the Tarbosaurus, the Hadrosaurus, the “duck-bill” dinosaur, the Embolotherium – with a “periscope-shaped” nose, which enabled it to breath also when its head was underwater – and the Mononykus – a non flying bird with claws instead of wings – among many others. n
…and Today’s Animals
T
he most unusual aspect of the Gobi desert is its seasonal temperature range, comprised between +40°C in summer and –40°C in winter. Because of this climate, its nomadic inhabitants are rare. On the other hand, the desert is home to a definitely interesting fauna: gazelles, wild donkeys, Bactrian camels, Przewalski’s horses – the ancestor of all horses – and eagles, alpine ibex, and the only bear species in the world living in the desert. n
The egg came first...
D
uring the first period of pioneering explorations of the Gobi desert, the news that spread around the world, considerably impressing popular imagination, concerned the discovery of several dinosaur eggs. In some cases, they were gathered in nests and, inside a few of them, even the remains of some embryos were found. n
Links To get to know Mongolia, or to start planning a nice trip, we recommend a few web sites containing information about this country. Among them: www.mongoliaviaggio.it, www.motortravel.it/mongolia-tour.php,
www.mongoliadventure.com; one further very helpful link is the Official Tourism Website of Mongolia, at this address www.mongoliatourism.gov.mn (in English)..n
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