Fossilized remains of a never-before-seen armored cat-sized dinosaur with a row of protective spines extending from its neck to its tail have been discovered in Argentina
- The discovery of the remains of an unprecedented armored dinosaur in Argentina
- Experts say the species Jakapil kaniukura looks like a primitive relative of Stegosaurus
- It weighed like a domestic cat and likely reached about 5 feet (1.5 metres) in length.
- It may represent a breed of armored dinosaur that was not previously known to science
The fossilized remains of a never-before-seen armored dinosaur the size of a domestic cat have been discovered in Argentina.
Paleontologists say the Jakapil kaniukura looks like a primitive relative of Ankylosaurus or Stegosaurus and may represent an entire lineage of species previously unknown to science.
It dates back to the Cretaceous period and lived between 97 million and 94 million years ago.
J. kaniukura had a row of protective spines running from its neck to its tail, experts said, and it likely reached about 5 feet (1.5 m) in length.
It was a herbivore—with leaf-shaped teeth similar to that of a stegosaurus—that likely walked upright and possessed a short beak capable of delivering a powerful bite.
New discovery: The fossilized remains of an never-before-seen armored dinosaur the size of a domestic cat have been discovered in Argentina. Computer simulations brought the new species Jakapil kaniukura to life (pictured)
Paleontologists say Jakapil kaniukura looks like a primitive relative of Ankylosaurus or Stegosaurus and may represent an entire lineage of species previously unknown to science.
This species may have been able to eat tough, woody plants, according to paleontologists at the Félix de Azara Foundation for Natural History in Argentina.
The partial skeleton of a dinosaur was discovered in the province of Río Negro in northern Patagonia.
It joins Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and other armor-backed dinosaurs in a group called the Thyreophora.
Most of the thyrofurans are known in the Northern Hemisphere.
Fossils from the oldest members of this group also date more commonly to the Jurassic period, about 201 million years ago to 163 million years ago.
J. kaniukura’s discovery shows that early thyrophorans had a much wider geographic distribution than previously thought, paleontologists Facundo J. Riguetti, Sebastián Apesteguía and Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola write in the new paper.
The partial skeleton of a dinosaur was discovered in the province of Río Negro in northern Patagonia
It dates back to the Cretaceous period and lived between 97 million and 94 million years ago
Fossils from the oldest members of this group also date more commonly to the Jurassic period, about 201 million years ago to 163 million years ago.
The dinosaur was a herbivore – it had leaf-shaped teeth similar to those of a stegosaurus – it probably walked upright and had a short beak capable of delivering a powerful bite.
It joins Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and other armor-backed dinosaurs in a group called Thyreophora.
It was also surprising, they added, that this ancient strain of therofuran survived all the way into the late Cretaceous period of South America.
In the Northern Hemisphere, this ancient species of thyrophoran appears to have been mostly extinct by the Middle Jurassic.
But in the southern subcontinent Gondwana, it seems, they survived well into the Cretaceous period.
Some therophorans survived much later—including Ankylosaurus, which went extinct along with the rest of the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
A computer simulation from Gabriel Diaz Yanten, an ancient Chilean artist and paleontology student at the National University of Rio Negro, brought the new species back to life.
It shows what it might look like when it walked on the ground.
This discovery was revealed in a journal called Scientific Reports.
Killing the Dinosaurs: How a city-sized steroid wiped out 75 percent of all animal and plant species
About 66 million years ago, the non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out and more than half of the world’s species were wiped out.
This mass extinction paved the way for the emergence of mammals and the emergence of humans.
The Chicxulub asteroid is often cited as a possible cause of the Cretaceous and Paleogene extinctions.
The asteroid hit a shallow sea in what is now the Gulf of Mexico.
The collision released a huge cloud of dust and soot that led to global climate change, wiping out 75 percent of all animal and plant species.
The researchers claim that the soot necessary for such a global catastrophe could only have come from a direct impact on the rocks in the shallow waters around Mexico, which are particularly rich in hydrocarbons.
Experts believe that within 10 hours of the impact, a massive tsunami hit the Gulf Coast.
About 66 million years ago, the non-avian dinosaurs were wiped out and more than half of the world’s species were wiped out. Chicxulub asteroid is often cited as a possible cause of the Cretaceous and Paleogene extinction event (stored image)
This has caused earthquakes and landslides as far away as Argentina.
While investigating the event, researchers found small particles of rock and other debris that were released into the air when the asteroid crashed.
These tiny particles, called globules, covered the planet with a thick layer of soot.
Experts explain that the loss of sunlight caused a complete collapse of the water system.
This is because the phytoplankton base of almost all aquatic food chains has been eliminated.
More than 180 million years of evolution that brought the world to the point of the Cretaceous period is believed to have been destroyed in less than the age of Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is roughly 20 to 30 years.