SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – During the construction of a pipeline in the Gobi Desert of southern Mongolia, a very old fossil was found that has allowed researchers to identify a new dinosaur species, the Duonychus tsogtbaatari.
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Dr. Anthony Fiorillo, executive director with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, told KBCS Radio the first part of this unearthed dinosaur’s name translates to “two claws” – a significant feature of the finding that we’ll get to later. As for the second part, it’s a nod to Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar, former director of the Institute of Paleontology at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and father of one of the study authors.
Getting back to the “two claws” portion of the name, research about the fossil discovery published this week in the iScience journal explained that therizinosaurs – the group of herbivorous/omnivorous theropod dinosaurs that Duonychus tsogtbaatari is part of – are known for having three-fingered hands. These dinosaurs that lived in Asia and North America during the Cretaceous Period are also known for having claw-like features called unguals and Fiorello said they are somewhat related to a more well-known dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus.
“This species is different from other therizinosaurs in that the hand possesses only two fingers, rather than three fingers, the typical condition for Avetheropoda, providing further insight into forelimb/hand reduction among theropods,” said the researchers of the Duonychus tsogtbaatari.
Fiorello said that one of the Mongolian specimen’s claws was actually preserved in its matrix and that they measured several centimeters across.
“So, that told us a lot more about the shape of these claws,” he said. “And they’re just a crazy sickle shape.”
Due to this shape, researchers think that the Duonychus tsogtbaatari was using its claws to bring vegetation from the branches of plants and to its mouth.
“Despite having only two functional digits, Duonychus was likely an effective grasper, considering the extreme flexion (near 90 degrees) at the ungual joint and the strong curvature of the keratinous claw, features unknown for other therizinosaurs,” said the study authors. They also said this finding fits in with a larger body of research regarding forelimb reduction in dinosaurs.
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