Artistic depiction of Ahshislesaurus wimani, a massive hadrosaur that existed around 75 million years in the past.(Image credit: Sergey Krasovskiy/Courtesy of NMMNHS)ShareShare by:
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Researchers have unearthed a gigantic kind of duckbill dinosaur that inhabited what is now New Mexico nearly 75 million years ago.
The dinosaur, Ahshislesaurus wimani, probably possessed a flattened cranium and a bony prominence situated low on its snout, investigators indicated in a study. These outcomes, which are scheduled to be featured in the Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, imply that duckbilled dinosaurs, also called hadrosaurids, exhibited increased variety and concurrence during the concluding 20 million years of the Cretaceous era (145 million to 66 million years ago) than initially presumed.
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According to the statement, A. wimani potentially could have reached lengths of up to 40 feet (12 meters).
A collection of A. wimani remains found during 1916 had previously been categorized as part of the hadrosaurid genus Kritosaurus. However, current fossil specimens undergo continuous assessment as increased data and fossil discoveries emerge.
Within the current study, the scientists reexamined that particular collection of fossils — encompassing a fragmented cranium, a lower mandible, together with several vertebrae — originating from the Kirtland Formation located in New Mexico. These fossils were preserved inside the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
“Generally speaking … craniums act as the primary determinant for pinpointing distinctions between animals,” mentioned study co-author Anthony Fiorillo, the executive director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, in a separate declaration. “Whenever you possess a cranium and you are identifying discrepancies, it conveys heightened significance compared to, let’s say, encountering a toe bone that exhibits difference from another toe bone.”
By juxtaposing the cranium to those of additional hadrosaurids, the group discerned that its structure and attributes diverged sufficiently from other hadrosaurid craniums to intimate that it was likely a distinct species. A. wimani is intimately linked to Kritosaurus, implying that their evolutionary pathways had bifurcated not considerably prior.
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“Kritosaurus remains a validated genus harboring species peculiar to itself,” conveyed study co-author Edward Malinzak, a paleontologist with Penn State University Lehigh Valley, in the secondary assertion. “We considered a specimen that was previously grouped as a single individual of Kritosaurus and ascertained it displayed notably discrete anatomical traits compelling it to be categorized as its independent genus along with its particular species.”
The mechanisms behind how the related species inhabited the same environment remain unclear for now, the investigators detailed within the study. However, mapping the past and breadth of diverse species could empower scientists to comprehend the ecosystem wherein they thrived, in addition to grasping the developmental lineage of duckbill dinosaurs.
“It appears the lineages co-occurred within the region during a certain interval,” conveyed Malinzak. “It has demonstrated that this assemblage not only expanded with diversification throughout the continent at a given juncture, but also played a role in the global expansion of this grouping during the Late Cretaceous.”
Skyler WareSocial Links NavigationLive Science Contributor
Skyler Ware operates as an independent science journalist covering subjects like chemistry, biology, paleontology, and Earth science. She participated as a 2023 AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow at Science News. Her contributions have additionally manifested in Science News Explores, ZME Science, and Chembites, among various outlets. Skyler holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech.
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