New Skull Of Tube-Crested Dinosaur Reveals Evolution Of Bizarre Crest
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
The first new skull discovered in nearly a century from a rare species of the iconic, tube-crested dinosaur Parasaurolophus was announced today in the journal PeerJ. The exquisite preservation of the skull, especially the bizarre tube-shaped nasal passage, finally revealed the structure of the crest after decades of disagreement.
Despite its extreme morphology, details of the specimen show that the crest is formed much like the crests of other, related duckbilled dinosaurs. Joe Sertich, curator of dinosaurs at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the leader of the team who discovered the specimen said, "This specimen is a wonderful example of amazing creatures evolving from a single ancestor."
"Imagine your nose growing up your face, three feet behind your head, then turning around to attach above your eyes. Parasaurolophus breathed through eight feet of pipe before oxygen ever reached its head," said Terry Gates, a paleontologist from North Carolina State University.
[...] "The preservation of this new skull is spectacular, finally revealing in detail the bones that make up the crest of this amazing dinosaur known by nearly every dinosaur-obsessed kid," said Sertich. "This just reinforces the importance of protecting our public lands for scientific discoveries."
"My jaw dropped when I first saw the fossil," said Gates. He continued, "I've been waiting for nearly 20 years to see a specimen of this quality."
"This specimen is truly remarkable in its preservation," said Evans, who has also worked on this iconic dinosaur for almost two decades. "It has answered long-standing questions about how the crest is constructed and about the validity of this particular species. For me, this fossil is very exciting."
Journal Reference:
Terry A. Gates, David C. Evans, Joseph J.W. Sertich. Description and rediagnosis of the crested hadrosaurid (Ornithopoda) dinosaur Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus on the basis of new cranial remains, PeerJ (DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10669)
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