Scientists discover 4 surprising dinosaur species in Chilean valley
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Loading... - Logan Carter
- 05 Apr 2023
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Scientists in an inhospitable valley in the Chilean Patagonia have discovered the fossils of four dinosaur species – including a megaraptor – at a site that over the past decade has emerged as an important fossil deposit.
The fossils were found in Cerro Guido, in southern Chile's Las Chinas valley near the border with Argentina, and taken to a laboratory in 2021. Researchers said they belong to dinosaurs that have not previously been identified in the area.
"It's always super exciting in scientific terms to find something that has not previously been discovered or described in the Las Chinas Valley, where we have become used to finding new fossil remains," said Marcelo Leppe, director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (Inach) which was part of the research team, to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Inach collaborated with the University of Chile, and the University of Texas on the expedition.
They identified the remains – including teeth and postcranial bone pieces – of four dinosaur species including the megaraptor, which belongs to the theropod family.
These carnivorous dinosaurs had raptor claws, small teeth for tearing, and large upper limbs which, as per research, put them at the top of the food chain in the region, which they inhabited between 66 and 75 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period. Read More…
