A new species of oviraptorid dinosaur has been discovered in southern China dating back approximately 69 million years to the latest Cretaceous period, says an international team of paleontologists.
An artistic reconstruction, showing the last-ditch struggle of Tongtianlong limosus as it was mired in mud. Image credit: Zhao Chuang.
The team, led by Dr. Junchang Lü, a paleontologist with the Institute of Geology in Beijing, China, has named the new dinosaur species Tongtianlong limosus, meaning ‘muddy dragon on the road to heaven.’
The ancient creature belongs to a family of feathered dinosaurs called oviraptorosaurs (Oviraptorosauria), characterized by having short, toothless heads and sharp beaks.
Some, including the newly-discovered Tongtianlong limosus, had crests of bone on their heads that were probably used as display structures to attract mates and intimidate rivals, like modern-day cassowaries.
“Tongtianlong limosus is a derived oviraptorid oviraptorosaur, differentiated from other species by its unique dome-like skull roof, highly convex premaxilla, and other features of the skull,” Dr. Lü and co-authors said.
A nearly complete, three-dimensionally preserved skeleton of Tongtianlong limosus, including a skull and lower jaws, was collected from the Nanxiong Formation in the Ganzhou area of Jiangxi Province, southern China. It was preserved almost intact, lying on its front with its wings and neck outstretched.
Dr. Lü and his colleagues speculate that the animal may have died in this pose after becoming mired in mud 66-72 million years ago.
“This new dinosaur is one of the most beautiful, but saddest, fossils I’ve ever seen,” said team member Dr. Steve Brusatte, of the University of Edinburgh.
“But we’re lucky that the ‘Mud Dragon’ got stuck in the muck, because its skeleton is one of the best examples of a dinosaur that was flourishing during those final few million years before the asteroid came down and changed the world in an instant.”
The whole skeleton of Tongtianlong limosus in dorsal and lateral view. Scale bar - 10 cm. Image credit: Junchang Lü et al.
According to the team, Tongtianlong limosus is the sixth species of oviraptorosaur named from the Nanxiong Formation.
All of these have been described over the past five years, and include: Banji, Ganzhousaurus, Jiangxisaurus, Nankangia, and Huanansaurus.
“The discovery of the new oviraptorid dinosaur further indicates that the Ganzhou area of Southern China is a most productive locality of oviraptorid dinosaurs and has a huge diversity of oviraptorosaurs from the late Cretaceous,” Dr. Lü said.
“It will provide important information on the study of evolution, distribution and behavior of oviraptorid dinosaurs.”
Source: sci.news
