Three Oscoco Everson dinosaurs. Credit: Michael W. Scrapnic
A newly discovered species of toothless, two-fingered dinosaur sheds light on how a mass of parrot-like animals thrived millions of million years ago
Unusual species put a finger on each hand rather than its closest relatives, indicating adaptation that the animal was able to spread during the late. Cretaceous Period, the researchers say.
A team from the University of Edinburgh has discovered several complete skeletons of the new species in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.
Rested together with the remains of three dinosaurs. Credit: Gregory Funston
The feathered, omnivorous creature, named Ok Kasoko Avarsan, grew to about two meters long and had only two functional digits on each arm. The animals had a large, toothless beak similar to the type found in parrot species today.
Significantly preserved fossils have provided the first evidence of digit loss in a three-fingered family of dinosaurs known as oviraptors.
They say they can develop adaptations suggesting the group can make changes to their diets and lifestyles, and enable them to diversify and multiply, the team says.
The researchers studied the reduction in the size of the third finger and the ultimate damage in the evolutionary history of oviparators. The group’s hands and arms have been linked to migration to new geographical areas – especially now in North America and the Gobi Desert.
Remains of Oscoco Averson’s two-fingered hand. Credit: Gregory Funston
The team also found that the Oxoco Averson – like other prehistoric species – was as social as the juvenile. Four young dinosaur fossils were rested together.
The study, published in the Royal Society’s Open Science Journal, was funded by the Royal Society and the Council of Engineering of Natural Sciences and Canada. It includes researchers from the University of Alberta and Philip J. from Canada. Curie Dinosaur Museum, Hokkaido University In Japan, and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences.
Dr Gregory Funston, of the University of Edinburgh School of Geophysics, who led the study, said: “Oxco Everson is interesting because the skeleton is so full and the way they were rested together shows that teenagers Were moving together in groups. But, importantly, his two-fingered hand tells us to look at the way the hand and forearm changed during the evolution of the ovivators, which had not been studied before. This led to some unexpected trends, which are a major part of the riddle of why the Oviraptors were so diverse before killing the dinosaurs before they became extinct. “
Ref: 7 October October 2020, Royal Society Open Science.
