Sands of Gobi Desert yield new species of nut-cracking dinosaur
Glants or meat – that’s about all that fossils ever inform palaeontologists a few dinosaur’s eating regimen. However, the cranium traits of a brand new species of parrot-beaked dinosaur and its related gizzard stones point out that the animal ate up nuts and/or seeds. These traits current the primary strong proof of nut-consuming in any dinosaur.
“The parallels within the cranium to that in parrots, the descendants of dinosaurs most well-known for his or her nut-cracking habits, are exceptional,” stated Paul Sereno, a palaeontologist on the University of Chicago and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Sereno, and two colleagues from the People’s Republic of China, introduced their discovery on 17 June 2008 within the Proceedings of the Royal Society O.
The palaeontologists found the brand new dinosaur, which they’ve named Psittacosaurus gobiensis, within the Gobi Desert of Inner Mongolia in 2001, and spent years getting ready and learning the specimen. The dinosaur is roughly one hundred ten million years previous, courting from the mid-Cretaceous.
The amount and measurement of gizzard stones in birds correlates with dietary choice. Larger, extra quite a few gizzard stones level to a eating regimen of more durable meals, reminiscent of nuts and seeds. “The psittacosaur at hand has an enormous pile of abdomen stones, greater than 50, to grind away at no matter it eats, and that is completely out of proportion to its three-foot physique size,” Sereno defined.
Technically talking, the dinosaur can also be essential as a result of it shows an entire new means of chewing, which Sereno and co-authors have dubbed “inclined-angle” chewing. “The jaws are drawn backward and upward as an alternative of simply closing or shifting fore and aft,” Sereno stated. “It stays to be seen whether or not another plant-consuming dinosaurs or different reptiles had the identical mechanism.”
The uncommon chewing type has solved a serious thriller relating to the wear and tear patterns on psittacosaur tooth. Psittacosaurs sported inflexible skulls, however their tooth present the identical sliding put on patterns as plant-consuming dinosaurs with versatile skulls.
Further studying
“A new psittacosaur from Inner Mongolia and the parrot-like construction and performance of the psittacosaur cranium,” Paul H. Sereno, University of Chicago; Zhao Xijin, Chinese Academy of Sciences;
Tan Lin, Bureau of Land Resources, Hohot, People’s Republic of China, Proceedings of the Royal Society S, June 17, 2009
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Filed underneath: dinosaurs, fossils Tagged: Dinosaur, dinosaurs, Fossil Collecting, fossils, Gobi Desert, Mongolia, Psittacosaurus gobiensis, Sands, Skull 
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