Dinosaurs have been a childhood memory for most of us. Seeing the breathtaking creatures in our favorite movies always managed to inspire some awe, and in some people, this awe lived on for a rather long time. Long enough for them to reach out towards a career in paleontology.
Even though finding old bones may not seem that exciting of a job, the field is moving at a fast pace. Paleontologists find a new dinosaur species every other week. We non-scientists may think it’s a rather fast pace. That’s because it is. It’s to be expected since fossil hunters have only uncovered the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dinosaur diversity. It’s going to be a long time till we reach “Peak Dinosaur”. The discovery of a new carnivorous monster drove that point home.
The newly discovered dinosaur is named Murusraptor barrosaenis. Quite a mouthful, but the name is a tribute to how the fossils were found. As described in the journal PLOS ONE by paleontologists Rodolf Coria and Philip Currie, during a tour to Sierra Barossa (located in northwestern Patagonia) Sergio Sladivia, a member of the expedition team, caught sight of dino bones protruding out of an eighty million year old stone. Because the fossils were found on a canyon wall, the paleontologists decided to merge the latin words for “wall” (murus) and “thief” (raptor) to make Murusraptor. Although, it may not be as flashy as “Tyrant Lizard” or “Super Lizard”, Murusraptor did manage to make its name known in other ways.
Coria immediately knew something was unique about the creature they had found. “We knew since the beginning that it was a new species because no theropods were known from this particular geological formation,” Coria states. Once the fossils were washed and cleansed, it turned out that this new species would be a real head-scratcher.
The researchers ended up concluding that Murusraptor belonged in the Megaraptorid group. Dinosaurs who belong in the Megaraptorid class are medium-sized and are theropods, meaning that they walk on two legs. They usually had large claws and features similar to that of birds. Other members of this class include the Megaraptor from modern-day South America as well as the Rapator and Australovenator from Australia.
“Although incomplete, the beautifully preserved bones of Murusraptor unveil unknown information about the skeletal anatomy of megaraptors, a highly specialised group of Mesozoic predators,” says Coria. The fossil that was found included a significant portion of the skull, pelvis and thibia, and thirty-one teeth. It was deduced that the bones belonged to a Murusraptor that had not yet reached adulthood. That being said, the new species is still larger than the next biggest Megaraptorid, Megaraptor (meaning that the Murusraptror is the largest Megaraptorid). The Murusraptor bears one-of-a-kind facial features compared to other in its class, as well as differently-shaped hip bones. This discovery could help position the Megaraptorid clan in the broader theropod group.
Things get a bit tricky when connecting the Megaraptorid family to other carnivorous dinosaur families. Even though the group is unique and has managed to gain a special spot in paleontologists’ eyes, it would help quite a bit if the lineage surrounding them was known. Unfortunately, no one can put a finger on the closest relatives of the Megaraptorid family. Some researchers suggest that they are closest to the Allosaurs, a group of giant carnivores with jaws made for slicing flesh. Others have argued that the Megaraptorids are closer to the infamous Tyrannosaur family. Sadly, the discovery of the Murusraptor alone can’t answer the question.
“Murusraptor provides a new glimpse to the megaraptor diversity in the Late Cretaceous,” Coria said, “but in order to clarify their phylogeny, we need to find more primitive forms.” It doesn’t necessarily bode bad news. If anything, it just goes on to prove that there are many more dinosaurs out there. If paleontologists continue targeting old rocks, then, with a bit of luck, they might find the creatures that possess the answers to the questions we have right now. In the end, the new dinosaur is an amazing discovery and not just another fossil in a museum.