Velociraptor’s new cousin is Raptor, unlike any one before

Somewhere before 2010, in the red sands of the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, filled with fossils, poachers excavated and stolen the exquisite skeleton of a carnivorous dinosaur.

They smuggled the fossil outside the country and the black market. He went through private collections in Japan and England and was eventually acquired by the French excavation company Eldonia. In 2016, one of the fossil owners had the dinosaur skull and four vertebrae scanned in the Belgian Museum, but somewhere later the head and neck disappeared. Their location remains unknown to scientists. Negotiations between fossil companies, paleontologists and government officials have led to the return of the dinosaur’s body to Mongolia, where it can be taken care of and studied, Raptor unlike anyone who can see before.

Now this implied, extremely sharp relative of Bicycle Finally there is a name: Sri predictsS

Approximately a six -meter six -foot dinosaur was wandering a prehistoric desert more than 71 million years ago. As A bike cypressor, which was also discovered in Mongolia, Sri is Dromaeosaur. This predatory group of dinosaurs includes Deinonychus., JutahrapatorAnd other washing carnivores with large, hyperexter nails on their second fingers.

“I was so surprised that I found such an unexpected Dromaeosaur in the same geological setting of the emblematic Bicycle“Says Andrea Ca, an independent paleontologist from Italy.

Cau and his colleagues published a document on July 13 in the magazine Historical biology Describing the new species. The discovery is part of the increasing number of dinosaurs similar to birds of prey Halszkaraptor Escuilliei and Natovenator PolydontusS

This cast was created by the CT scan of the dinosaur skull, which takes place in 2016. The location of the true fossilized skull is still a mystery to scientists. Photo by Thierry Hubin, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

Shri Rapax's nails were bigger than the nails that his relative cycling had on his hands.

Sri Rapax’s nails were bigger than the nails that his famous relative, a cypress, had on his arms. Photo by Thierry Hubin, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

Stronger bite, bigger nails

Despite his close relationships with the Hollywood famous Bicycle., Sri It was a very different dinosaur. Acting of his skull, which is made on the basis of CT scores for 2016, as the actual dug skull is still missing, shows Sri I had a deeper and short muzzle. The finding suggests that this gram’s had a stronger bite than his relative.

“Other differences, such as a relatively short muzzle, a proportionally long neck and a short tail show that these two relatives had different environmental preferences,” says Tsogtbaat Chinzorig, a paleontologist at the North Carolina Museum and the co -author of the study.

The bones of his hand are fresher and more stock, greeted with large, curved nails. In addition, there were strong hands that suggested a strong grip. Exactly how Sri The hands and nails used are unclear, although researchers suggest that it may have caught and conquer other dinosaurs such as horned herbivores ProtocopiesS Bitten Protocopies bones and a famous fossil of Bicycle and Protocopies Locked in a fossil battle called “combat dinosaurs”, a hint that pork horosaurs are a prey for drumaosaurs as SriS

Michael Pitman, a paleontologist at a Chinese University of Hong Kong who did not participate in the study, says that the authors’ hypothesis is reasonable and that biomechanical studies of the dinosaur hands can potentially try the idea. He also calls the copy “beautiful and well preserved”.

Probability Sri Ravenous and Bicycle The living next to each other points to a phenomenon called “niche separation”. Narrowly related species can sometimes share the same landscape when they have different dietary preferences and behavior, such as how Madagascar island hosts many different types of lemur that live in different habitats and eat different foods.

The evolution of various specializations allows related animals to divide habitats in different ways, enhance biodiversity. In the case of dinosaurs the anatomical differences between Sri and Bicycle Indicate that carnivores are probably also part of such an environmental interaction.

Return Sri predicts Beginning

For Sri The skeleton is a poacher and sold without geological information, paleontologists are not sure exactly from the place where the dinosaur is excavated, beyond its clear origin from the Mongolia formation in Jehta. The fact that scientists have managed to study, describe and begin to understand Sri predicts is a victory for paleontology and efforts to return against the black market fossil deals.

“This case emphasizes another case of fossil poaching,” said Chinzorig, “part of the long -standing model of illegal smuggling of Mongol Gobi fossils over the decades.”

It is essential to return such fossils, says Chinzorig, both for the construction of scientific knowledge about the prehistoric past and for the respect of Mongolia’s fossil heritage. If the smuggled fossil had remained in private hands, scientists would not have recognized this new dinosaur, his relationship or something about the role he plays in his prehistoric ecosystem.

“Scientific aside,” Cau adds, “I’m really glad to help return these dinosaurs.” And by introducing Sri predicts For the world, paleontologists can be lucky to help return their missing heads home.

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