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90-Million-Year-Old Fossil of ‘Missing Link’ Bird-Like Dinosaur Discovered
The near-complete Alnashetri skeleton, weighing less than 2 lbs, helps clarify alvarezsaur evolution and distribution during the Cretaceous in South America, researchers said.
- At the La Buitrera fossil site, scientists recovered a nearly complete Alnashetri cerropoliciensis skeleton in 2014 and described it as a 'missing link'.
- Given the prior fragmentary South American record, the new Alnashetri specimen supplies a reference that helps identify scrappy fossils and map evolutionary transitions, researchers say.
- Microscopic bone analysis confirmed Alnashetri was an adult of at least four years, weighed less than 2lbs, and was rapidly buried by a sand dune preserving its nearly intact skeleton.
- With this reference specimen, researchers reclassified museum collections worldwide as close Alnashetri relatives, while La Buitrera specimens in labs promise further discoveries.
- Analysis suggests the alvarezsaur evolutionary timeline shifted earlier as museum collections show origins when continents were connected, and tiny body size evolved before digging adaptations.
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90-million-year-old fossil of ‘missing link’ bird-like dinosaur discovered
Scientists described the discovery as a "palaeontological Rosetta Stone”.
It was found in a fossil area located in the north of Río Negro, known as La Vuitrera, and corresponds to the species Alnashetri cerropolicensis. To what species did it belong and of what antiquity does it date?
90-Million-Year-Old Patagonian Fossil Reveals Missing Chapter in Evolution of Alvarezsauroid Dinosaurs
A remarkably complete skeleton of the alvarezsauroid dinosaur species Alnashetri cerropoliciensis from Patagonia, Argentina, as well as two alvarezsauroid specimens from the northern hemisphere reveal how the once-mysterious lineage of theropod dinosaurs evolved and spread before continents drifted apart. The post 90-Million-Year-Old Patagonian Fossil Reveals Missing Chapter in Evolution of Alvarezsauroid Dinosaurs appeared first on Sci.News: Br…
Fact Sheet: US and Argentine researchers identify Alnashetri cerropoliciensis, a 90-million-year-old dinosaur considered the ‘missing link’ of the alvarezsaurids. They published their findings in the journal Nature. Tap for full context. Context: The fossil was discovered in 2014 in Argentine Patagonia, at a site known for Cretaceous fossils. The species was previously named based on fragmentary remains. The team has worked for a decade preparin…
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