A dinosaur that lived in Australia 220 million years ago left a mark that hinted at it being a ferocious predator. But as scientists first thought when they first analyzed trucks over 50 years ago, new analysis of trucks suggests that animals weren’t heavy meat eaters. Rather, it is a smaller, long-necked vegetarian, and new research has discovered.
Scientists previously estimated that the leg height of the carnivorous animal that left the print was at least 7 feet (2 meters) at the waist and at least 20 feet (6 meters) in length. .. At the time of their discovery, the prints were thought to represent the earliest evidence of a large predatory dinosaur, researchers recently reported.
However, when they revisited the track, they found that the shape and proportions of their three-fingered paws were different from those of other theropods. dinosaur According to new research, it was a bipedal carnivore at the time, probably made by dinosaurs that eat smaller species of plants called prosauropoda.
Related: In the image: Tyrannosaurus truckway
Prosauropoda may walk on four legs or two legs, and are thought to be the ancestors of giant long-necked herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs such as: Diplodocus When Apatosaurus, According to the Museum of Paleontology, University of California In Berkeley.
To date, footprints represent the only evidence of dinosaurs in Australia. Triassic (251.9 million to 201.3 million years ago). Coal miners discovered a newly analyzed truck on the roof of a mine in 1964. At 699 feet (213 m) above the surface, individual footprints were 16 to 17 inches (40 to 43 centimeters) long. study.
“For the first miners of the 1960s, seeing a large bird-like footprint protruding from the ceiling must have been quite a sight,” said a senior researcher, paleontologist and researcher at the University of Queensland, Australia. Said Anthony Romilio. Said in a statement..
Hundreds of millions of years ago, plant-eating dinosaurs pushed their feet deep into the surfaces of moist plants and silt swamps. Over time, the deposits filled the track and hardened to maintain its impression. Later, the plants below turned into coal, and the sand covering the tracks turned into sandstone, Romerio told Live Science by email.
“Coal miners have removed coal and revealed sandstone ceilings with giant’chicken’footprints,” Romilio said.
In 1964, a geologist at the Queensland Museum made a map of the railroad tracks, photographed it, and made a plaster model of two footprints. Scientists write that trucks are no longer directly accessible due to the closure of the mine. In the Queensland Museum’s collection, only one of the casts has survived to date (other locations are unknown), and scientists used the cast to create high-resolution digital 3D models of the feet.
They compared the models and measurements of the footprint images with those of other Triassic dinosaur footprints and found that their prints differed from those of the Triassic theropod dinosaurs (this). The fossilized footprints of the group Eubrontes)..
Theropod footprints are usually long and narrow. By comparison, the print is “too wide” to belong to theropods, Romilio said. The toes of predatory dinosaurs usually gather together, but in this footprint they were widespread.
“And the mid-toe wasn’t as prominent as it would be if it was made by a predator,” Romilio added. The trackway has also rotated inward. This is a feature not found on theropod trackways.
“Other things, such as how the toes are curved, the larger toe pads, and the indentations on the outside of the footprints, have collectively shown very different shapes of the footprints. Eubrontes, Our truck looked like a truck named Evazoum“Romilio explained.
“Interestingly, the existing hypothesis is: Evazoum Made by prosauropoda, a long-necked dinosaur of ancestors. “
The authors also found that previous interpretations of printed matter may have overestimated toe size, as it included the impression of a toenail dragging the entire length of the footprint by as much as 35%. .. Their new estimate was that the dinosaurs were less than 4.6 feet (1.4 m) tall and about 20 feet (6 m) long.
However, new discoveries have revealed that dinosaurs are smaller vegetarians, not “horrible Triassic carnivores,” but this discovery remains important and exciting. Said in a statement.
“This is the earliest evidence we have of this kind of dinosaur in Australia, showing a 50 million year gap before the first dinosaur. [known] A fossil of sauropods, “said Klein.
The findings were published in the journal on October 21st. Historical biology..
Originally published in Live Science.
Scientists find that Triassic dinosaurs with huge “murder legs” weren’t that big after all
Source link Scientists find that Triassic dinosaurs with huge “murder legs” weren’t that big after all
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