Four dinosaur species found in Chilean valley

Context

  • Scientists have found the remains of four species of dinosaurs, including a megaraptor, in an inhospitable valley in Chilean Patagonia that has emerged over the past decade as an important fossil deposit.

Key Details

  • 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.
  • The researchers said they belong to dinosaurs that have not previously been identified in the area.

    Four dinosaur species found in Chilean valley
    Photo Credit: AFP
  • They identified the remains — including teeth and postcranial bone pieces — of four species of dinosaur including the megaraptor, which belongs to the theropod family. Scientists have found the remains of four types of dinosaurs in the Chilean Patagonia, an inhospitable area that has become a major fossil site over the past decade, researchers said.
  • These carnivorous dinosaurs had raptor claws, small teeth for tearing, and large upper limbs which, according to the 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.
  • They also identified two specimens of Unenlagiinae, closely related to velociraptors and which have a “novel evolutionary character, which would indicate that this is a new species of unenlagine or perhaps a representative of a different clade (group).
  • They also found remains of two bird species: an Enantiornithe, the most diverse and abundant group of birds of the Mesozoic; and Ornithurinae, a group directly related to present-day birds.

Source: TH

Visit Abhiyan PEDIA (One of the Most Followed / Recommended) for UPSC Revisions: Click Here

IAS Abhiyan is now on Telegram: Click on the Below link to Join our Channels to stay Updated 

IAS Abhiyan Official: Click Here to Join

For UPSC Mains Value Edition (Facts, Quotes, Best Practices, Case Studies): Click Here to Join

Leave a Reply