paleontology
Bones of new dinosaur species discovered in Argentina
An undated drawing of a previously unknown dinosaur species (left) discovered in southern Argentina. photo
© —/telam/dpa
Patagonia is one of the most important places in the world for paleontology. Now, researchers have found bone remains of a previously unknown dinosaur species there.
In southern Argentina, scientists have discovered fossilized remains of a previously unknown dinosaur species. Elemgasem nubilus belonged to the Abelisauridae group and lived about 90 million years ago, according to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (Conicet). The carnivorous dinosaur moved on two legs, was about four meters long and nearly two meters high.
The researchers discovered the bone remains near the town of Plaza Huincul in Patagonia’s Neuquén Province. They came from a dinosaur that was at least eight years old but not yet fully grown. The scientists describe their find in the journal “Papers in Paleontology.”
“Argentina, and Patagonia in particular, is one of the most important places in the world for paleontology, along with China, the United States and Canada, as countless new discoveries are published in international journals every year,” said study author Mattia Baiano. “Every time we add a new grain of sand to the knowledge of life in the past.”