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Newly discovered dinosaur sheds light on ancient meat-eaters

Newly discovered dinosaur sheds light on ancient meat-eaters

Newly discovered dinosaur sheds light on ancient meat-eaters. Scientists in the Spanish region of Castellon have discovered a previously unknown dinosaur species’ fragmentary skeleton.

The discovery gives new information on the features of spinosaurs, a successful group of predatory dinosaurs that lived on land and in water. Protathlitis cinctorrensis existed roughly 126-127 million years ago and was around 10-11 metres in length and weighed about 2 tonnes.

Spinosaurs were the largest known carnivorous dinosaurs.

Spinosaurs were members of theropods, which included all meat-eating dinosaurs. They were joined by famous species like the tyrannosaurus genus from North America and the giganotosaurus genus from South America, as well as carnivorous birds. A partial skeleton, containing the right upper jawbone, one tooth, and five vertebrae, was used to describe the Protathlitis specimen.

A big, long-necked quadrupedal plant-eater, two smaller bipedal plant-eaters, and another theropod smaller than Protathlitis were also discovered at the same site.

Newly discovered dinosaur sheds light on ancient meat-eaters. The newly discovered dinosaur is related to baryonyx, another spinosaur discovered in England in the 1980s. Both species have longer skulls than other meat-eating dinosaurs. However, whereas Baryonyx possessed a huge claw on its first finger, no Protathlitis limb remnants were discovered.

Protathlitis lived along the coast of the Tethys Sea, an ancient ocean that included the Mediterranean Sea.

Protathlitis, unlike several spinosaurs thought to be semi-aquatic and principally fish hunters, had a different hunting style. The species was found along the coast, indicating a different ecological niche. Spinosaurs lived in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America during the Cretaceous Period. Scientists are currently unraveling their early origins and global dispersal due to the rarity of their fossils.

The new discovery lends support to the theory that two lineages of spinosaurs, those closely related to baryonyx and those linked to spinosaurus, populated western Europe throughout the early Cretaceous Period before migrating to Africa and Asia, where they diversified further.

The frequency of spinosaurus relatives in Africa and the supremacy of baryonyx relatives in Europe are remarkable results. These discoveries help us comprehend the evolution and distribution of spinosaurs during the dinosaur era.

Also read: Impeccably preserved dinosaur fetus discovered in China

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