FLASH: CMNH Scientists Discover Another New Species of Dinosaur

Fast on the heels of last Fall’s discovery of Xenoceratops – a new species of horned dinosaur (ceratopsian) from Alberta, Canada, discovered by a group of scientists including Dr. Michael J. Ryan, curator of vertebrate paleontology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, now we get word that Dr. Ryan has done it again.

He’s co-authored research describing a new species of bone-headed dinosaur:

Acrotholus audeti (Ack-RHO-tho-LUS) was identified from both recently discovered and historically collected fossils. Approximately six feet long and weighing about 40 kilograms in life, the newly identified plant-eating dinosaur represents the oldest bone-headed dinosaur in North America, and possibly the world.

How is a new extinct dinosaur discovered? One bone fragment of a skull “cap” was discovered over 50 years ago by the Royal Ontario Museum, and it was matched with another, better specimen found in 2008 by a University of Toronto graduate student.

Are there more dinosaurs to be discovered?

“We can predict that many new small dinosaur species like Acrotholus are waiting to be discovered by researchers willing to sort through the many small bones that they pick up in the field,” says Ryan.

http://www.CMNH.org

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106


 

 

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