Paleontologists in China have discovered a new species of burrowing dinosaur that is approximately 125 million years old.
The newly discovered dinosaur species was found in the Lujiatun bed located in northeast China in Liaoning Province, one of the oldest layers of the famous Yixian formation that has produced hundreds of preserved dinosaur skeletons in the last 20 years.
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An article announcing the discovery of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences said that the Luciatun bed would be a kind of Cretaceous ‘Pompeii’.
The newly described species is believed to be the oldest ornithopod dinosaur ever.
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Photo: One of the two perfectly preserved skeletons of Changmiania leoninginesis and the impression of an artist. (Carin Siezlet / Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences)
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The fossils did not retain any traces of feathers, but the skeletons were incredibly preserved in three dimensions.
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Changmiania Burrows can dig like rabbits today. His neck and arms are very short but strong, his shoulder blades are characterized by full of scapulae and the top of his snout is shaped like a shovel. So we believe that 125 million years ago, when both specimens of Changmiania were resting at the bottom of their bruises, volcanoes erupted. “Still alive or only after his death,” says Pascal Godefroit, a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural and Natural Sciences. Changmiania Burrows can dig like rabbits today. Its neck and arms are very short but strong, its shoulder blades are characterized by growing incisors and the top of its snout is shaped like a shovel. We therefore believe that both specimens of Changmiania were trapped by a volcanic eruption while they were resting at the bottom of their ocean 125 million years ago. “
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