Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of sauropod dinosaur from a semi-articulated specimen discovered in northern Wyoming in the 1990s.
The newly described species roamed the Earth during the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago.
dubbing Aldetosaurus Viatorthis dinosaur was of the following type: Diplodidaea family of sauropod dinosaurs that includes some of the longest creatures that ever walked the earth.
“Sauropods are among the best-studied dinosaurs and include the largest terrestrial vertebrates throughout most of the Mesozoic era,” he said. tom van der linden Oertijdmuseum and colleagues researchers.
“They are best recognized by their long necks and long tails, and their success can be attributed to their extreme size, complex bird-like air sac system, and unique feeding and digestive strategies, as well as oviparous reproduction. ”
“Sauropod fossils have been found on every continent, including Antarctica.”
“One of the most well-known sauropod families is the Diplodidae, established in 1884 and now defined as “all diplodids.'' diplodocus than to do Dicraeosaurus“”
“These sauropods are generally characterized by very long necks and even longer tails.”
“Paleontology of diplodocids is an active field of research, with many recent contributions regarding morphology, histology, biomechanics, pathology, and ecology.”
“Diplodocids are known from the Americas, Europe, and Africa, and range in age from the Oxfordian period to possibly the early Varangian period (161 million to 135 million years ago).”
“They became highly abundant and taxonomically diverse in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the western United States during the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian periods (155 to 145 million years ago).”
ruins of Aldetosaurus Viator It was excavated in 1993 from the Howe Stevens Quarry in the Morrison Formation.
“Aldetosaurus Viator “This is the first described skeletally mature sauropod specimen recovered from the Howe Stevens Quarry,” paleontologists said.
“This specimen highlights the diversity of morphological traits in diplodochine sauropods, including laminar capture in the cervical dorsal transition and laminar transition in the caudal vertebrae,” the researchers added. .
“Furthermore, this specimen preserves the relatively rare first chevron with a unique morphology, and when compared with other sauropods and other non-avian dinosaurs, the micromorphological features of the chevrons make it possible to distinguish sauropods from sauropods. This highlights the need to further investigate the possibility of recognizing sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs.”
of the team paper Published in this month's magazine Old Trogia Electronica.
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Tom TP van der Linden others. 2024. A new diplodocine sauropod discovered from the Morrison Formation in Wyoming, USA. Old Trogia Electronica 27 (3): a50;doi: 10.26879/1380
Source: www.sci.news
