Theropod dinosaurs from Late Cretaceous deposits in the northeastern Aral Sea region, Kazakhstan

Seven theropod taxa (Tyrannosauridae indet., Ornithomimidae indet., Therizinosauroidea cf. Neimongosaurus sp., Therizinosauroidea indet., Caenagnathidae indet., Dromaeosaurinae indet., and Velociraptorinae indet.) have been identified from the Santonian Bostobe Formation, and four taxa (Tyrannosauridae indet., Ornithomimidae indet., Therizinosauroidea indet., and Dromaeosauridae indet.) are known from the underlying Turonian Zhirkindek Formation of the northeastern Aral Sea region in Kazakhstan. These theropod faunas are similar in composition to faunas from the Turonian Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan, Santonian Yalovach Formation of Tajikistan, and Turonian-Santonian Irendabasu and Bayanshiree (upper part) formations of northern China and southern Mongolia. The therizinosauroid cf. Neimongosaurus sp., known from an isolated femur, is the only theropod taxon from Kazakhstan currently identifiable to generic level. A therizinosauroid similar to Neimongosaurus is reported here for the first time; this genus was known previously from the Irendabasu Formation of northern China.