Researchers have discovered the remains of Gonkoken nanoi, a species of herbivorous dinosaur hitherto unknown in the southern hemisphere, in Chilean Patagonia, the epicenter of important paleontological discoveries in recent years.
Four meters long, one tonne in weight and equipped with a duck bill, this species lived 72 million years ago in the extreme south of Chile.
“They were slender dinosaurs that could easily adopt bipedal and quadrupedal poses to reach vegetation at height and at ground level,” describes Alexander Vargas, director of the paleontological network at the University of Chile and one of the authors of the study. The study was published on Friday, January 19 by the journal Science Advances and presented in Santiago.
The discovery of these remains in 2013 shows that Chilean Patagonia served as a haven for very ancient species of hadrosaurs, those duck-billed dinosaurs common in North America, Asia and Europe during the Cretaceous period.
According to Alexander Vargas, his presence in the remote lands of the south surprised scientists, who now have to “understand how the ancestors got there.”
“Gonkoken nanoi” is the fifth dinosaur species discovered in Chile after “Chilesaurus diegosuarezi”, “Atacamatitan chilensis”, “Arackar licanantay” and “Stegouros elengassen” discovered in the same region.
The name Gonkoken comes from the language of the Tehuelche, the first inhabitants of the region until the late 19th century, and means “resembling a wild duck or swan”.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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