SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – The dinosaur world has added a new family member with the discovery of a new species!
Scientists at Utah’s Dinosaur National Monument have found fossils that belonged to a type of sauropod – long-necked plant-eaters that were said to be the largest animal ever to roam land. The fossils were found in slabs of sandstone that were so hard that explosives were needed to free some of the remains.
Dan Chure, paleontologist at the monument, said that the discovery of the fossils offers fresh insight into the lives of dinosaurs some 105 million years ago, including the evolution of sauropod teeth, which reveal eating habits and other information. “You can hardly overstate the significance of these fossils,” he said.
The discovery included two complete skulls from other types of sauropods. Their skulls are mostly made of thin, fragile bones bound by soft tissues that were easily destroyed after death. Of the 120 known species of sauropods, complete skulls have been found for just eight.
The new species is called Abydosaurus mcintosh. Researchers have said that it is part of the larger brachiosaurus family, towering four-legged vegetarians that include sauropods.
“Abydosaurus is the right dinosaur at the right time to answer some of these questions,” University of Michigan researcher John Whitlock said in a statement. Theese discoveries will help scientists trace how their eating techniques and diet evolved.
The fossils are on temporary display at Brigham Young University’s Museum of Paleontology.