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Researchers have discovered a never - before - visit species of dinosaur that may have live underground in burrows . The new find demonstrates the versatility of these extinct reptilian in exploiting ecological niches and adapt to their environment , the scientist say .
In a new study publish Tuesday ( July 9 ) in the journalThe Anatomical Record , scientists account a serial of fossil from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation in easterly Utah , which were extracted from the neighborhood start in 2013 .
Near-complete fossils of Fona herzogae discovered in Utah appear to have been crushed to death in a burrow.
Two of the complete specimen were divulge together , leading the authors to call the speciesFona herzogae . The name draws on the creation mythology of the Chamorro people of the Mariana Islands , in which the goddess Fo’na grieves the death of her brother and ultimately creates humanity . One of the authors traces his origins to the region and wished to yield protection to his inheritance .
The extraordinarily complete preservation of several specimen intimate they may have died in burrow . Other specimen included in the study were isolated bones . Typically , the corpse of fossilized animals take apart over time as they are exposed to the elements and scavenging animals , but in this case , these dinosaurs appear almost entire , suggesting they may have been crushed underground rather than exit in an give away area .
Aspects of their os structure also point these animals had a burrowing lifestyle . The specimen had fused pelvic bones , which may have provided stability as the dinosaurs used their hind limb to excavate their homes in the mucky floodplains they in all likelihood inhabited 99 million years ago , during the Cretaceous ( 145 million to 66 million years ago ) . And their large hind pes may have further attend them in scraping away expectant Lucius DuBignon Clay substratum , according to the work .
A 3D printed skull of Fona herzogae.
The scientist compared these dog-iron - size dinosaur to modern-day mammalian burrowers such as kangaroo rats ( genus Dipodomys ) and springhares ( Pedetes capensis ) , which have potent hind leg and shorten forelimbs . Like these rodents , F. herzogae likely walked on its hind legs and was herbivorous — its tooth were structured to chew plant subject . Burrows would have provided protection from predator , specially for even modest juveniles .
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F. herzogaeshares some of these characteristics withOryctodromeus , which has also been found in positions indicating soul were buried in collapsed burrows . A2007 paperdescribed the discovery of an adult and its young in a burrow that had fossilize .
F. herzogaeis believe to be a comparative ofOryctodromeus , which emerged around the same time .
The investigator of the young study note , however , thatF. herzogae ’s ossify bum tendons suggest the species did not burrow , as a sloshed rump would not inevitably be conducive to this behavior . However , they proposed thatF. herzogaedid not of necessity inhabit burrows it fabricate itself . It may have lived in burrow dug by crocodile or other animals .
