Discovery of the Burrowing Dinosaur Fauna herzogaIt reveals a complex ecosystem from the mid-Cretaceous period where dinosaurs occupied subterranean niches. This highlights the diversity and ecological adaptability of dinosaurs and expands our understanding of their role in ancient environments.

The age of dinosaurs did not only occur on Earth. A recently discovered ancestor Tecelosaurus “It shows that these animals spent some of their time in underground burrows. This new species adds to our understanding of life both above and below ground in the mid-Cretaceous.”

A new dinosaur To the Fund [/Foat’NAH/] Herzogae It lived 99 million years ago in what is now Utah. At that time, the area was a large floodplain ecosystem sandwiched between the shores of a vast inland ocean to the east and active volcanoes and mountains to the west. It was a hot, humid, and polluted environment with numerous rivers flowing through it.

Paleontologists from North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences found fossils and other specimens of the same species in the Musentuchite Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation from 2013. The preservation of these fossils, along with some distinguishing features, alerted them to the possibility of excavating them.

Physical features and excavation evidence

background was a small, herbivorous dinosaur about the size of a large dog, with a simple body plan. It lacked the bells and whistles that characterized its highly ornamented relatives, such as horned dinosaurs, armored dinosaurs, and crested dinosaurs. But that doesn’t mean that background It was boring

background It shares several anatomical features with animals known for digging or burrowing, such as large biceps muscles, strong muscle attachment points in the thighs and legs, fused bones along the pelvis (likely to aid stability while digging), and proportionately larger hind legs than forelimbs. But that’s not the only evidence that this animal spent time underground.

“The trend in the fossil record is toward larger animals, largely because in floodplain environments like Musentuchit, small bones on the surface are often dispersed, decayed, or destroyed before they can be buried and fossilized,” says Haviv Avraami, Ph.D., an NC State student and digital technician for the new Dueling Dinosaurs program at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Avraami is the first author of the paper describing the work.

“However background “They are often found intact, with many of their bones preserved in their original death position, chest down, forelimbs spread, and in extremely good condition,” Avraami says. “If it was already in a burrow underground before it died, that makes this type of preservation more likely.”

Lindsey Zanno, NC State research associate professor, chair of the paleontology department at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and corresponding author of the paper, agrees.

“Skeletons To the Fund “They’re much more common than we expected in small animals with brittle bones in this region,” Zanno says. “The best explanation for why we found them in such large numbers and why we found them in small groups of a few individuals is that they lived at least part of the time underground. Phona actually did a lot of work for us by burying itself in this area.”

Although researchers have not yet identified the underground nests To the Fundthe tunnels and chambers of his closest relative, OrictodromeusIdaho and Montana. These findings support the idea that: background also used nests.

Cultural and Scientific Significance of Backgrounds

Last name To the Fund It comes from the creation story of the ancestors of the Chamorro people, indigenous to Guam and the Pacific Mariana Islands. Fo’na and Pontan were brother explorers who discovered the island and became the earth and the sky. The species name honors Lisa Herzog, Director of Paleontological Operations at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, for her invaluable contributions and dedication to the field of paleontology.

“I wanted to honor the indigenous mythology of Guam, where my Chamorro ancestors came from,” Avraami says. “In the legend, when Fo’na died, he became part of the world and new life came out of his body; that to me is associated with petrification, beauty and creation. Most likely, background covered in shaggy wool made of multicolored feathers. The species is named in honor of Lisa Herzog, who was an integral part of this study and discovered one of the most exceptional specimens. To the Fund“It probably consists of several individuals sheltered together in a nest.”

background It is also a distant relative of another known North Carolina fossil: the willow specimen. Thescelosaurus neglect, It is currently housed in a museum and is also believed to be semi-fossil or adapted to a partially subterranean lifestyle, a study by Zanno and former NC State postdoctoral researcher David Button published in late 2023.

“T. neglect was at the end of this line – background Avraami says it was an ancestor from about 35 million years ago.

Researchers believe that background It is key to expanding our understanding of Cretaceous ecosystems.

“background “It gives us insight into the third dimension in which an animal could live underground,” says Avrahami. “This adds to the richness of the fossil record and expands the known diversity of small herbivores that are poorly understood despite being incredibly integral components of Cretaceous ecosystems.”

“People tend to have a myopic view of dinosaurs that is out of step with the science,” Zanno says. “We now know that dinosaur diversity spanned a wide spectrum, from small tree gliders and nocturnal hunters to grazing sloths and, yes, even subterranean dwellers.”