New armless abelisaur dinosaur species discovered in Argentina

A new dinosaur has been discovered in Argentina.

The ancestors of an armless group of dinosaurs were present in the southern hemisphere over 70 million years ago.

A partially complete skull was found in Argentina.

The species of abelisaurid, which is now known as Guemesia ochoai, was once found in Africa, South America and India. The dinosaur may have been a close relative of the entire group.

The area where the skull was found has very few abelisaurid fossils, and may explain why the area gave rise to such unusual animals.

Professor Anjali Goswami, Research Leader at the Museum and co-author, says that the new dinosaur is unusual. It has several characteristics that suggest that it is a new species, providing important new information about an area of the world that we don't know a lot about.

It shows that the dinosaurs that live in this region were different from the ones in other parts of Argentina, which supports the idea of separate provinces in the Cretaceous of South America. It shows us that there is more to be discovered in areas that get less attention than some of the more famous fossil sites.

The description of the dinosaur was published in a journal.

Armless, but not harmless.

The continents were combined hundreds of millions of years ago in a supercontinent called Pangaea. The landmass began to break into Gondwana and Laurasia as the plates shifted.

By 180 million years ago, Gondwana would break apart to form the major continents in the southern hemisphere, as well as India.

Some scientists think that the fauna of each landmass would have remained the same, despite the fact that the new continents were slowly moving apart.

The abelisaurid dinosaurs lived in Gondwana. These predatory theropods may have fed on large dinosaurs. Despite their fearsome lifestyle, they were able to take down their prey without using arms.

The shorter front limbs of many species of abelisaurs made them useless and were 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 The dinosaurs would have had to rely on their heads and jaws to capture prey if this had happened.

Dinosaurs were wiped out 66 million years ago, but fossils of these animals have been found in rocks across Africa, South America, India and Europe.

CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.">

CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.">

35 species of abelisaur fossils have been described from Argentina. Most of the dinosaurs have been found in the south of the country, but few have been found in the north-west.

The description of this new species from part of a skull provides vital new knowledge for scientists researching this period of history.

Is this the same person as the ancestors?

The braincase, including the upper and back parts of the skull, was found in rocks that were between 75 and 65 million years old. The extinction of most dinosaurs was caused by end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

There are rows of small holes in the front of the dinosaur's skull. The researchers believe that the holes could have allowed the animal to cool down, with blood being pumped into the thin skin at the front of the head to release heat.

The skull of the new species has a small braincase, but it is 70% smaller than any of its relatives. There is conflicting evidence on whether this is a juvenile or not.

A lack of clarity in its other features, including thin parts of the skull and lack of horns, is similar to that of other abelisaurids. It has been suggested that the new species could be related to the ancestors of the rest of the group.

There are enough unique features of the dinosaur to convince researchers that it's a new species. The specimen was discovered by a museum technician and named after a hero of the Argentine War of Independence.

There are many questions surrounding the newly described abelisaurid, but it adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting north-western Argentina had a unique set of creatures.

Stupendemys geographicus is one of the largest turtles to have ever lived.

Scientists want to find out more about the life in ancient Argentina. The period just before and after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction is what they are focused on.

The team has discovered several other species, from fish to mammals, which they are currently describing.

There is still a lot to be learned from the fossils of northern Argentina.

There are lots of parts of the world that have not been studied in detail, and tons of fossils remaining to be discovered.

We left some exciting fossils in the ground on our last trip, not knowing that it would be years before we could get back to our field sites. We are hoping that it won't be too long before we discover many more species from this unique fauna.

More information: Federico L. Agnolín et al, First definitive abelisaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Northwestern Argentina, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (2022). DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2021.2002348 Journal information: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Citation: New armless abelisaur dinosaur species discovered in Argentina (2022, February 18) retrieved 18 February 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-02-armless-abelisaur-dinosaur-species-argentina.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.