Argentine scientists discover new species of dinosaur – 02/26/2022 – Science

Scientists dig in Argentina remnants of a kind of dinosaur A hitherto unknown carnivore, which lived about 70 million years ago. The animal had small arms and probably used its powerful head to strike its prey.

fossil skull dinosaur period chalky, called Guemesia ochoai, was discovered in the province of Salta, northwestern Argentina. The researchers said it likely belonged to a group of carnivorous dinosaurs called Apilisaurus, which walked on two legs and had trunk-like arms that were shorter than those of North America’s Tyrannosaurus rex.

The researchers said the short arms may have forced Gomezia to rely on its strong skull and jaws.

“It is so unique and so different from other carnivorous dinosaurs that it allows us to understand that we are dealing with a completely new species,” Federico Agnolin, lead author of a study on dinosaurs published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and researcher at Conicet, told Reuters. , National Science Council of Argentina.

The animal, which may have been a juvenile, lived only a few million years ago An asteroid collided with the current location of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexicoapproximately 66 million years ago, which wiped out about three-quarters of the species on Earth, including the dinosaurs.

Scientists believe that Aplesaurus roamed what is now Africaand South America and Indiaand several Dozens of samples have already been discovered in Argentina Almost all of them are in southern Patagonia, far from the site of the discovery of Gumizia.

“We know he had a very strong sense of smell and myopia,” said Agnolin, noting that he would walk upright on his big feet, his hard skull leading the way.

“Some scientists believe that this may mean that the animal hunted its prey by attacking it with its head,” Agnolin added.

The discovery cements Argentina’s reputation as a treasure trove of fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.

Guemesia is named after Argentine independence hero Martín Miguel de Guemes and Javier Ochoa, the museum employee who made the discovery.

^{Translated by Luis Roberto M. Gonsalves}