Bizarre dog-sized dinosaur fossil which had 7 pairs of blades as tail discovered in Chile

Researchers in Chile discovered a new disaur species that had a unique slashing tail weapon, reported a study published in journal Nature. As per palaeontologists, dog-sized disaur dating back 72-75 million years ago had spiked tails that could be uses as stabbing weapons. Some of m also had tails with clubs and seven pairs of "blades" pair out sideways like a slicing weapon used by ancient Aztec warriors, Alex Vargas, lead author of study said in a statement.

rare armoured disaur with a semi-articulated skeleton of small built (approximately 2 meters) from Late Cretaceous period of Magallanes in sournmost Chile is called Stegourous Elengassen. "Stegouros shows ankylosaurian cranial characters, but a largely ancestral postcranial skeleton, with some stegosaur-like characters," study elaborated. plant-eating critter is said to have a combination of traits from different species that initially directed palaeontologists to wrong path, study said.

"It’s a really unusual weapon,” said Vargas, a University of Chile paleontologist, as per Associated Press. “Books on prehistoric animals  for kids need to update and put this weird tail in re. ... It just looks crazy,” he added.

Vargus and his team examined pieces and skull of fossil. After five DNA analyses, researchers concluded that it was only distantly related to stegosaurus. It was also discovered that disaur species belonged to a rare sourn hemisphere member of tank-like ankylosaur family of disaurs, which prompted Vargus to call it " lost family branch of ankylosaur."

[Im: AP]

From sut to tip of its tail measured only 6feet

discovered fossil was found with its front end flat on its belly and back end angled down to a lower level, indicating that it could have caught in quicksand, Vargas said, as per Associated Press. disaur appeared to be an adult based on fusion of bones, he added. From its bird-like sut to tip of its tail, Stegourous measured about six feet, but it's height would come only to "thighs of humans."

According to Vargas, tail was assumed to be used for defence against large predators. tail is t just "really bizzare" but it is from far Sourn Chile, “a region that hasn’t yielded se types of animals before,” said Kristi Curry Rogers, a biologist at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., who wasn’t part of study.

“Stegourus reminds us that, if we look in right places at right times, re is so much more still to discover," Rogers added.

(With inputs from AP, Im: Unsplash (representative)