A Chilean paleontologist has discovered the fossils of a duck-billed herbivorous dinosaur that is believed to have roamed the ancient and remote river plains of Patagonia in southern Chile about 72 million years ago, according to a new study published in Science Advances. Scientists nicknamed the dinosaur as Gonkoken nanoi.
A Chilean paleontologist has discovered the fossils of a duck-billed herbivorous dinosaur that is believed to have roamed the ancient and remote river plains of Patagonia in southern Chile about 72 million years ago, according to a new study published in Science Advances. Scientists nicknamed the dinosaur as Gonkoken nanoi.
They believe the duck-billed dinosaur weighed up to one metric ton and could grow up to 4 meters. In 2013, an expedition led by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) found bone fragments at the bottom of a hillside near the tourist site of Torres del Paine in Patagonia.
“Initially, we thought it belonged to the same group as other South American hadrosaurs, but as research progressed, we realized it was something I had never found before,” said Jhonathan Alarcon, lead author of the study.
But other study authors also commented on the fossil discovery. “Gonkoken nanoi is not an advanced duck-billed dinosaur, but rather an older, transitional duckbilled lineage: an evolutionary link with advanced forms,” said Alexander Vargas, co-author of the study.
The name Gonkoken is a combination of two words from the Aonikenk language. “Gon” means similar and “koken” means wild duck or goose.
This research allows scientists to digitally reconstruct the skeleton and the team hopes to 3D print it for public display.
Source : Merdeka.com
