A University of Alberta professor and researcher, along with a colleague from Argentina, have released their findings on a newly discovered dinosaur species, after finding fossils in northwest Patagonia.
The study, published in PLOS ONE by Phillip Currie from the U of A, and Rodolfo Coria from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas in Argentina on July 20, sheds light on the new species of megaraptorid dinosaur.
The species, dubbed murusraptor barrosaensis, and it’s believed to have lived in the Late Cretaceous epoch, and is a megaraptorid, meaning it had a carnivorous diet.
“This is a super-cool specimen from a very enigmatic family of big dinosaurs,” Currie said in a statement. “Because we have most of the skeleton in a single entity, it really helps consolidate their relationships to other animals.”
The discovery of the skeleton, made on a vertical cliff, is one of the most complete fossil sets ever found, including an intact braincase and distinctive facial features not seen before.
“It’s the only braincase material we have of any megaraptor,” Currie said.
“It was very evident that it was a beautifully preserved specimen of pure white in red rock. The hips were really interesting because they are pneumatic, clearly air-filled, not the kind of thing you expect to see in a big therapod,” Currie said.
It’s believed the specimen was not yet an adult, was about eight metres long when it was alive and it was still growing.
Currie has been doing fieldwork in Argentina for the last two decades, working with Coria, found the specimen in 2000, in Sierra Barrosa, near the town of Plaza Huincul in Argentina.
The statement refers to Plaza Huincul as the “South American equivalent of Drumheller”.
“It’s a small place with lots of dinosaurs around,” Currie said. “Probably half of the South American dinosaurs are within 200 kilometres of the town.”
