Nine-Ton Giant Dinosaur With Bizarre Duck Face Discovered

The discovery came after an international team of paleontologists, including researchers from Penn State and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, re-examined fossils that had been found in the region back in 1916. Their findings, published in the Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, show that Ahshiselsaurus is part of a larger group of herbivorous dinosaurs that once thrived in the Western Interior Basin of North America.

Revisiting an Old Fossil

The fossil of Ahshiselsaurus was originally cl***ified as a species of Kritosaurus in 1935, but new research has revealed significant anatomical differences. According to D.Edward Malinzak, an ***istant professor of biology at Penn State, the blockysis of skull features and vertebrae convinced researchers that the fossil represented a separate genus. The newly identified species, named Ahshiselsaurus wimani, is an important addition to the understanding of the hadrosaurid family, which includes other well-known dinosaurs like Parasaurolophus and Edmontosaurus.

The specimen used to define the species includes an incomplete skull and several isolated bones. The team’s comparison of these fossils with those of other hadrosaurids helped determine that Ahshiselsaurus had distinct enough features to warrant its own cl***ification, overturning decades of previous ***umptions about its identity.

The Role of Ahshiselsaurus in Its Ecosystem

Ahshiselsaurus wimani was a large herbivorous dinosaur that likely played an important role in its ecosystem. With an estimated length of over 35 feet and a weight of around nine tons, it would have been a significant presence in the environment of late Cretaceous New Mexico. Unlike some other hadrosaurids like Parasaurolophus, Ahshiselsaurus did not have the characteristic head crest, which further sets it apart from other similar species.

The dinosaur would have coexisted with various other species in a rich and diverse ecosystem. Alongside Ahshiselsaurus, the region was home to armored dinosaurs like ankylosaurids and the horned Navajoceratops. The discovery of this new species highlights the complexity of ancient ecosystems and the roles that different dinosaur species played in shaping the environment.

Insights into Dinosaur Migration and Evolution

The study of Ahshiselsaurus also provides important insights into dinosaur migration patterns across North America. Researchers believe that species like Ahshiselsaurus migrated from the southwestern part of the continent to other regions, including Canada and South America. Malinzak and his colleagues suggest that this migration was part of a larger pattern of dinosaur dispersal, with species moving in response to environmental changes.

The fossil evidence shows that Ahshiselsaurus appears to have evolved in New Mexico and later spread to other parts of the continent. The fact that this new species is older than Kritosaurus, with fossils found deeper in the rock layers, suggests a complex evolutionary history for these dinosaurs. The discovery adds to the growing understanding of how dinosaur species adapted to their environments and how migration played a role in the diversity of life during the Late Cretaceous period.