a paper Published in a magazine earlier this month Cretaceous research Announces the discovery of a previously undocumented genus and species of medium-sized ornithopod dinosaurs.
Artist's impression Chachysaurus Nekuru. Image credit: Sci.News / UnexpectedDinoLesson / CC BY 4.0 Certificate.
The new dinosaur lived in what is now Patagonia, Argentina, during the Late Cretaceous period, between 100 million and 90 million years ago.
dubbing Chachysaurus Nekuruthis species was between 2.5 and 3 meters long and about 0.7 meters tall.
ancient beast belongs Erasmariaclade of ornithopod dinosaur It is known from Cretaceous deposits in South America, Antarctica, and Australia.
“Despite the fact that Elasmarians are widely distributed along the Cretaceous strata of South America, Australia, Antarctica, and South Africa, some aspects of their anatomy and diversity remain unclear. ” said lead author Dr. Rodrigo Álvarez Nogueira and colleagues at the Argentine Museum of Science. Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia' – CONICET and Maimonides University.
“For example, tail anatomy is poorly studied, especially for members of the South American clade.”
“On the other hand, phylogenetic relationships and personality distribution within Erasmarians have not yet been fully investigated.”
Postcranial remains of multiple individuals Chachysaurus Nekuru It was discovered in the Fincul Formation of the Pueblo Blanco Natural Reserve in northern Rio Negro, Argentina.
“The Finkle Formation is home to one of the most diverse vertebrate assemblages, including fish, turtles, crocodiles, and dinosaurs,” the paleontologists said.
“When it comes to dinosaurs, saurischians dominate, along with many species of sauropods and theropods.”
“On the other hand, ornithischian fossils in the Finkle Formation are represented only by isolated claw phalanges of indeterminate ornithopods.”
According to the team: Chachysaurus Nekuru It constitutes the first named ornithischian species in the Finkle Formation and sheds light on the anatomy of the elastomatian tail and humerus.
“Little is known about the anatomy of the tail of elastomatids, and ornithopods in general. Chachysaurus Nekuru “This is an important addition to our knowledge about this region of the ornithopod body,” the researchers said.
“Furthermore, the shape of its humerus is very different from other medium-sized elastomatids and resembles smaller taxa, suggesting that this clade includes species with diverse locomotor habits. ”
“In this aspect, large elasmarians have a combination of characteristics that indicate that some members of the clade had quadrupedal or gravitational locomotion habits, and that perhaps they constitute a subclade of their own.” is showing.”
“This also points to the fact that the anatomical diversity of Elasmarians is not well understood.”
“Provides new anatomical information Chachysaurus Nekuru Erasmarians are significantly different from other ornithopod lineages, supporting the idea that further research is needed to recognize their uniqueness and to understand their diversity on southern continents. ”
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Rodrigo Alvarez Nogueira other. 2024. A new ornithopod from the Upper Cretaceous (Finkle Formation) of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina: Implications for Erasmarian postcranial anatomy. Cretaceous research 159: 105874; doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105874
Source: www.sci.news
