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Scientists have discovered a new type of dinosaur, which was a dog-sized and wandered what is now in the US about 150 million years ago, along with familiar dinosaurs, such as Stegosaurus and Diplodocus.
Enigmacursor mollyborthwickaeIs it As researchers called it, it was about the same size as the Labrador Retriever, with a tail of about half a length, according to a study published on Wednesday in a study published by the Royal Society Open Science.
Although 2021-2022 In Colorado, many of his bones were recognized from the formation of Morrison, its skull and its vertebral column, so scientists did not trust its exact length.
“These very small dinosaurs are quite rare (found),” Professor Paul Barrett, a researcher of the London Museum of Natural History of Natural History, told CNN.
The skeleton will be exhibited at the London Museum of Natural History. – Lucie Goodayle/Trustees of the Museum of Natural History
“Actually, finding a basically filled skeleton, not a few pieces and pieces of bone, is not common, so they are quite well known.”
The skeleton will be on display at the Museum of Natural History since June 26.
This dinosaur was quite “easily built” and weighed in about the same as Collie, Barrett said. It was a herbivore and would have walked on long hind legs, which “shows it was a pretty fast runner,” allowing her to make a “fast escape” of predators, Barrett added.
He and his colleague Susannah Maidment began to explore this copy after the London Art Gallery, showing the dinosaur, contacted them.
Finally, they could work with a gallery to find a donor to help bring the skeleton to the museum. The name of the species honors that donor Molly Borthwick, and the tribe name is the Latin for the “mysterious runner”.
The skull was lacking in a skeleton, so the reconstruction is displayed. – Lucie Goodayle/Trustees of the Museum of Natural History
After carefully examining the bones, Maidment and Barrett concluded that this copy had unique qualities, unlike any other species previously known. First of all, his thigh bone was particularly distinctive, with different muscle attachments than other dinosaurs, said Barrett.
It is most related to Yandusaurus Hongheenis, a three -meter (9.8 -foot) dinosaur found in China. This shows that the species was widely distributed, said Barrett, hypothesizing that its other fossils had not yet been found.
Scientists believe that this specimen has not yet been fully adult, as some of its vertebrae have not yet fused, but due to how the excavation was prepared before coming to the Museum of Natural History, they cannot be sure. It is also unclear how the dinosaur has died because its bones have no obvious signs of illness or injury.
New types of dinosaur are excavated or set relatively often, about once a week, Barrett said. However, finding such small dinosaurs is much rarer, partly because they are not overlooked by fossil hunters looking for larger, more impressive dinosaurs and in part because smaller skeletons are more likely to predators and quilts.
After finding these smaller dinosaurs, which are often left on Earth, “gives us a more detailed idea of what ecosystems were,” Barrett said.
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