Newly-discovered dinosaur species with parrot-like beak & two fingers lived 69 mn yrs ago

There has been a discovery of a new species of toothless, two-fingered dinosaur which has further passed attention towards how a group of parrot-like animals existed more than 68 million years ago. The study has been published in the journal Royal Society Open Science and has been funded by The Royal Society and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada. It involved researchers from the University of Edinburgh, University of Dinosaur Museum in Canada, Hokkaido University in Japan, and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. However, the study was led by Dr. Gregory Funston from the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoScience. 

New species discovered

The species was named Oksoko avarsan and the feathered omnivorous creatures grew to around two metres long. The animals had a large, toothless beak similar to what we see in species of parrot today. The study says, “The new taxon, Oksoko avarsan gen. et sp. nov., known from multiple associated skeletons, represents the sixth genus of oviraptorid and ninth genus of oviraptorosaur from the Nemegt Formation, adding to previous evidence for a remarkable diversity of oviraptorosaurs in the Maastrichtian of Asia".

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(Holotype block of Oksoko avarsan MPC-D 102/110. (a,b) Holotype block with skeletons in ventral view. Colours distinguish different individuals; the holotype individual is in blue. Image Credits: royalsocietypublishing.org)

(Forelimb elements of Oksoko avarsan. Image Credits: royalsocietypublishing.org)

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As a part of the study, researchers focussed on the reduction in size, and eventual loss, of a third finger across the oviraptors’ evolutionary history. It was found out that the arms and hands of the species changed drastically as they migrated to newer areas, especially to what is now known as North America and the Gobi Desert. According to ed.ac.uk, Dr Gregory Funston from School of GeoSciences said, “Oksoko avarsan is interesting because the skeletons are very complete and the way they were preserved resting together shows that juveniles roamed together in groups. But more importantly, its two-fingered hand prompted us to look at the way the hand and forelimb changed throughout the evolution of oviraptors—which hadn’t been studied before. This revealed some unexpected trends that are a key piece in the puzzle of why oviraptors were so diverse before the extinction that killed the dinosaurs”. 

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Also Read: This Dinosaur Species Replaced Its Teeth Every Two Months: Study

(Image Credits: Representative Image/Unsplash)