(NLDO) - Chinese scientists have identified a previously unknown species from two Cretaceous fossil specimens.
According to Sci-News , the remains of two bizarre creatures were excavated at the Maortu fossil site in the Miaogou Formation in Chilantai, western Inner Mongolia, China.
The specimens were analyzed by a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan University, and were later identified as an entirely new species.
The bizarre creature Yuanyanglong bainian was a feathered dinosaur - Graphic image: Ddinodan
The new species was named Yuanyanglong bainian.
In the team's reconstruction, it resembles a bizarre hybrid between an ostrich and a large beast, with a reptilian head but a birdlike beak.
However, it was actually a dinosaur that lived about 110 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.
It belonged to a family of feathered dinosaurs called Oviraptorosauria, which lived in what is now Asia and North America, with over 40 named genera.
Yuanyanglong bainian was identified as a new species thanks to its short skull, which is distinct from other species in its family, as well as some special features in its pelvis.
It also exhibits some unique combinations of features from previously known Oviraptorosaur clades.
Notably, the fossils also include stomach stones, which helped them grind their food, just like some modern birds do.
These features make the new specimen all the more valuable: Not only is it a missing piece in the evolutionary puzzle of the Oviraptorosauria family, providing a link between different species, but it also shows a deep relationship with modern birds.
Birds evolved from dinosaurs and are the species that most closely resemble these ancient monsters. So much so that scientists sometimes refer to birds as "modern-day dinosaurs."
Research on the new species has just been published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/sinh-vat-la-110-trieu-tuoi-lo-dien-o-noi-mong-trung-quoc-196241109103106499.htm
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