Pronunciation: air-keh-TOO
Meaning: for Erketü Tengri
Author/s: Ksepka and Norell (2006)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Dornogov, Mongolia
Discovery Chart Position: #602
Erketu ellisoni
(For Erketu and Ellison)Etymology
Erketu is named after one of the 99 Tengri (deities) of Mongolian shamanism. Erketü is the Mighty Tengri, the creator-god who called Yesügei, the father
of Chingis Khan, into being.The species epithet, ellisoni, honours American Museum of Natural History's resident paleo-artist, Mick Ellison, for his contributions to ongoing AMNH dinosaur research.
Discovery
The first fossils of Erketu were discovered in the Baynshire Formation at
Bor Guvé, Dornogovi (East Gobi) Aimag (Province), Mongolia, during an American Museum of Natural
History–Mongolian Academy of Sciences field
expedition in 2002.
The deposits at Bor Guvé appear to represent a floodplain environment and, apart from Erketu, the area has yielded turtle remains, two
types of freshwater mollusks, elements of a maniraptoran slightly larger than Deinonychus, an Allosaurus-sized predatory theropod, a couple of titanosaur vertebrae, and previously unknown fossilized fruit.The holotype (IGM 100/1803) includes an articulated series of five neck vertebrae (1-5) plus a partial sixth, a right shin (710mm long), a calf (750mm), an ankle joint, and half of a sternum. Neck vertebrae 7, 8, and 9, left in place after the 2002 season, were retrieved the following year.
Preparators
Jane Shumsky and James Klausen.
