New dinosaur species discovered in Germany
(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists at the University of Tübingen in Germany have discovered an unknown species of dinosaur that has been named Tuebingosaurus maierfritzorum.
It is a herbivorous lizard that lived from 203 to 211 million years ago in a region known as the Swabian Alb. This is reported in an article published in the journal Vertebrate Zoology.
T.maierfritzorum resembles sauropods – large dinosaurs with a long neck. Previously, it was attributed to Plateosaurs – relatively large herbivorous dinosaurs of the Triassic period, 6-12 meters long.
However, the remains of many large lizards of that time were prematurely attributed to Plateosaurus, although they could belong to other groups of dinosaurs.
Reanalysis of a skeleton found at Trossingen in 1922, consisting of a posterior body including bones of the limbs, pelvis and tail, showed that the fragments were not the same as those of a typical Plateosaurus.
T.maierfritzorum is characterized by wider and stronger hips with fused sacral vertebrae, which suggests four-legged locomotion.
It is assumed that tubingosaurus drowned in a swamp, but the left side of the body was on the surface for a long time and was exposed to the environment for several years.
After carefully comparing all the anatomical features, the scientists reclassified the Trossingen skeleton and determined that they had found a previously unknown species and genus.
It is highly probable that Tuebingosaurus maierfritzorum was quadrupedal and thus much more closely related to later large sauropods such as brachiosaurus or diplodocus.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.
