Scientists in Argentina They discovered the remains of a previously unknown type of carnivorous dinosaur that lived about 70 million years ago and had weak arms and may have used its strong head to repel its prey.
Fossil skull from the Cretaceous period dinosaur, called Guemesia ochoai, was discovered in the Salta province of northwestern Argentina. It likely belonged to a group of carnivorous dinosaurs called Apilisaurus, which walked on two legs and only had belly-like arms, even shorter than those of North American dinosaurs, the researchers said.
The researchers said the short arms may have forced Gomezia to rely on its strong skull and jaws.
“It is very unique and completely different from other carnivorous dinosaurs, which 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 a researcher with the Argentine National Science Council, told Reuters. .
The animal, potentially a juvenile, lived a few million years before an asteroid impacted Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, wiping out about three-quarters of Earth’s species including the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago.
Scientists believe that aplesaurus roamed what is now Africa, South America and India, and dozens of specimens have been excavated before in Argentina – Almost all of them are in southern Patagonia, far from the site of the discovery of Gimécia.
“We know he had a very sharp sense of smell and myopia,” said Agnolin, noting that he would walk upright on his big feet, with his hard skull leading the way.
“Some scientists think this may mean that the animal hunts its prey by charging its head,” Agnolin added.
The discovery adds to Argentina’s reputation as a treasure trove of fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.
Guemesia takes its name from Argentine independence hero Martin Miguel de Guemes and Javier Ochoa, the museum worker who made the discovery.
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