Researchers have found a new Argentinean dinosaur that has strong claws and is consuming an old crocodile bone.
The new discovery, which was from an enigmatic group of dinosaurs known as megaraptorans, may have measured 7 meters in length. As they divided into various species over millions of years, they roamed what is now South America, Australia, and parts of Asia.
According to paleontologist Lucio Ibiricu of the Patagonian Institute of Geology and Paleontology, who was a member of the discovery team, megaraptorans were distinguished by their outstretched skulls and “huge and very powerful claws.”
Because the fossils found thus far are insufficient, it is still unclear how the animals hunted and where they fit into the evolutionary timeline.
Researchers said in a recent study that they found arm, leg, and tail bones from the Lago Colhue Huapi rock formation in Patagonia, along with a portion of a skull.
In the bones, they found distinctive characteristics that led them to believe it might be a new species.
Federico Agnolin of the Argentine Museum of Natural Science Bernardino Rivadavia wrote in an email that the newest member of the megaraptoran clan, Joaquinraptor casali, “fills a major gap by providing one of the most complete skeletons yet.”
The study, which was released on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, did not involve Agnolin.
Although scientists do not know what killed it, the creature was at least 19 years old when it died, and it most likely lived between 66 and 70 million years ago, which is close to when dinosaurs went extinct.
Its diet and whether it was the top predator on the humid prehistoric flood plains may be inferred from the leg bone that was pressed against its jaws. This bone belonged to an ancient relative of crocodiles.
In honor of his son Joaquin, Ibiricu gave the new dinosaur his name.
Ibiricu stated that he believes Joaquin would have enjoyed having a dinosaur as his name, despite the fact that he was still a young child and had not yet become fascinated by them.
“All children love dinosaurs so he would probably be a fan, too,” he said.
