Palaeontologists discovered a new species of dinosaur with short arms and long legs like the T-Rex.
In 2012, a group of explorers found fossils of Meraxes Gigás in the northern Patagonia region of Argentina during a field expedition. “We won the lottery and found it literally on the first morning,” said Palaeontologist Peter Makovicky from University of Minnesota. Professor Makovicky and his team studied the fossils and published their findings in the journal Current Biology.
Meraxes Gigás, named after a character in the “Game of Thrones” book series, is a type of a dinosaur that roamed the Earth between 90 to 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. At that time, the region was wetter, had more forests, and was much closer to the sea, Professor Makovicky said. Meraxes Gigás went extinct 20 million years ago before the T-Rex roamed the Earth.
The study revealed Meraxes Gigás has a big skull over 1.27m, and a large body around 11m long. However, its arms were only about 61cm.
The researchers believe tiny arms help dinosaurs like this stand up after a fall. They also believe Meraxes use their large heads as a weapon to defend themselves from danger.
Links:
https://www.kidsnews.com.au/animals/new-meat-eater-meraxes-gigas-had-tiny-arms-and-giant-head-like-trex/news-story/a00025746bb51dae0a3f066d7990f74e
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones
In 2012, a group of explorers found fossils of Meraxes Gigás in the northern Patagonia region of Argentina during a field expedition. “We won the lottery and found it literally on the first morning,” said Palaeontologist Peter Makovicky from University of Minnesota. Professor Makovicky and his team studied the fossils and published their findings in the journal Current Biology.
Meraxes Gigás, named after a character in the “Game of Thrones” book series, is a type of a dinosaur that roamed the Earth between 90 to 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. At that time, the region was wetter, had more forests, and was much closer to the sea, Professor Makovicky said. Meraxes Gigás went extinct 20 million years ago before the T-Rex roamed the Earth.
The study revealed Meraxes Gigás has a big skull over 1.27m, and a large body around 11m long. However, its arms were only about 61cm.
The researchers believe tiny arms help dinosaurs like this stand up after a fall. They also believe Meraxes use their large heads as a weapon to defend themselves from danger.
Links:
https://www.kidsnews.com.au/animals/new-meat-eater-meraxes-gigas-had-tiny-arms-and-giant-head-like-trex/news-story/a00025746bb51dae0a3f066d7990f74e
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones
