The fossilized archaeological site discovered in Mexico’s core wilderness in 2014 has identified the strange new genus and species of the Ornithomimid dinosaur.
The newly identified dinosaur species walked around the earth about 73 million years ago in the late Cretaceous era.
It was named Mexidracon Longimanus. The length of this ancient creature was about 3 m (10 feet).
It belongs to Ornithomimidae, a dinosaur family that evolved a beak without teeth, is omnivorous or herbivorous, and likely resembled a superficial ostrich.
“Ornithomimosaurs have a large orbit, long neck, non-radical manus, long rostral bones with a slender, long, and distally delicate skull of the beast legs resembling a dinosaur,” said Benemerita Escuela Normal Deco Aria and her colleagues in the United States, Mexico, and Spain.
“The size of the body ranges from small forms (exceeding 12 kg) like Nqwebasaurus Thwazi and Blue Weather from early Cretaceous in Africa and Asia to large Asian species in the late Cretaceous like Deinocheirus Mirificus (6 tons).
“Ornithomimosaurs are known from the Caucasian strata in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa.”
The fossil of Mexidracon Longimanus was discovered in 2014 in the Cerro del Pueblo Formation in Mexico.
“The Cerro del Pueblo layer of Core Wayla represents one of the richest layers, including Mexican dinosaurs,” said researchers.
“Similar to other Cretaceous sites in North America and Asia, Ornithomimosaurs are very common in the Cerro del Pueblo layer.
“However, most of these specimens are very fragmentary, and even relatively complete specimens remain officially unexplained.”
“Mexidracon Longimanus represents the first officially described ornithomimid dinosaur species from the Cerro del Pueblo layer.”
Its most prominent autoapomorphy is the extreme elongation of its manual phalanges, forming the palm of its hand.
“The discovery of Mexidracon Longimanus suggests a wide body size diversity and geographical distribution of ornithomimosaurs among the Campanians in southern Laramidia.
“The record of ornithomimosaurs in the Cerro del Pueblo layer is another example of the coexistence of ornithomimids and Deinocheirids, reaching a wide body size diversity in this ‘ostrich’ dinosaur clay.”
The discovery of Mexidracon Longimanus will be reported in a paper released in the journal “Cretaceous Research” this week.
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Claudiainéssserrano-Breweryas et al. Mexico, Core Wayla Campanians (Upper Cretaceous). A new long ornithomimid dinosaur from the Cerro del Pueblo layer. Cretaceous Research was released online on January 28, 2025. Doi: 10.1016/J.CRETRES.2025.106087
Source: www.sci.news
