Published 15:35 IST, May 20th 2020
Fossil of rare species of toothless dinosaur discovered in Australia
A dinosaur fossil in Australia has reportedly been identified by scientists as a rare, toothless dinosaur that existed nearly 110 million years ago.
A dinosaur fossil in Australia has reportedly been identified by scientists as a rare, toothless dinosaur that existed nearly 110 million years ago. The fossil was discovered by Jessica Parker, a volunteer, who dug it as a part of annual dig led by Melbourn Museum. At the time of discovery, it was assumed to be of a flying reptile, called Pterosaur, however, upon further analysis, scientists at Swinburne University found that it was a delicately built dinosaur.
According to reports, scientists discovered that it was Elaphrosaur, dinosaur related to Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptor. Dr Stephen Poropat, one of the scientists, explained further revealing that the Elaphrosaurs had long necks, slumpy arms with small hands and relatively lightly built bodies. The five-centimetre vertebrate fossil, which was discovered near Cape Otway, Victoria in 2015 marked the first fossil of the species to be found on the Australian mainland.
Could grow up to Six metres
The recently identified fossil reflected that they were about two metres long. However, previously discovered fossils in China Argentina and Tanzania indicated that Elaphrosaurs could grow up to six metres in length. Scientists have also reckoned that the ancient beings, whose names translates to “light-footed lizard,” didn’t eat much meat.
Talking about the anatomy of the dinosaur, Dr Poropat said that a few known skulls of Elaphrosaurs show that youngsters had teeth, however, adults lost their teeth and replaced them with beaks. He added that the researchers were unsure if the same happened with Australian Elaphrosaurs too.
In other news, a group of researchers found the fossils of a previously unknown reptile from the Early Triassic Period that has a long bony neck and long legs. The researchers reportedly named the lizard as 'Strider' after the famous 'Lord of The Rings' character which lived to have a history dating back to 250 million years. The study which was published in the journal, 'PLOS ONE' states that the rare fossil was of 'Elessaurus Gondwanocciens' which has now been named Strider.
Image credits: museumsvictoria/Twitter
Updated 15:35 IST, May 20th 2020