Competition makes new dinosaurs appear in Northwest Alberta

The discovery of the 'big fish swallowing small' phenomenon that took place in northwestern Alberta 73 million years ago may also lead to the discovery of a new dinosaur here.

Tetsuto Miyashita, an University of Alberta student, along with Frederico Fanti, a paleontological graduate student from Italy, obtained the discovery near Grande Prairie, 450 meters northwest of Edmonton.

Miyashita and Fanti accidentally discovered an incubation area and found fossils of young leaf-eating dinosaurs beside the teeth of a predator. Researchers have learned that this is the tooth of the Troondon species, a dinosaur that looks like a bird and is about 2 meters long. The finding opened the door to the field of dinosaur research on this continent: 'So dinosaurs hatched eggs in a high latitude area like Grande Prairie,' Miyashita concluded. 'And for the first time we know that there are a considerable number of Troondon dinosaurs that specialize in eating newly hatched baby dinosaurs.'

Over the two summers the field research, Miyashita and Fanti began to develop the theory that Grande Prairie was a forgotten link between the dinosaurs that existed in the north and south.'There has never been an area between Alaska and southern Alberta that used to have many dinosaurs and other animals,' Miyashita said. The list of newly discovered species in this area includes: thick-headed herbivores, reptile animals and fossil freshwater fish.

Miyashita said the group of unprecedented creatures may have had interactions that led to evolution into a new species.

Scientists believe that the discovery of another species of 'big fish swallowing small' predator 73 million years ago in northwest Alberta could lead to the discovery of a new dinosaur here. (Photo: Lucas Panzarin / Source: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology)

'New dinosaurs have not been created through mating,' Miyashita said. 'Many dinosaurs living on the same land will create ecological interactions, such as destroying each other and competing for food.'

'This could lead to evolution into a new species.'

Researchers suspect that the new dinosaurs formed after evolution at Grande Prairie is a platypus. Miyashita said, unlike the platypus that was discovered in Alaska, the species in Grande Prairie has crests or bumps on the forehead. The pair will return to Grande Prairie to focus on finding more dinosaurs in the area.

Miyashita and Fanti's work was published this month in Palaeogeoraphy, Palaeocilmatology, Palaeoecology.

References:
Federico Fanti, Tetsuto Miyashita. Một cao độ cao cấp của vertebrate fossil tập hợp từ cuối Cretaceous of west-central Alberta, Canada: evidence cho dinosaur nesting and vertebrate latitudinal gradient. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 2009; 275 (1-4): 37 DOI: 10.1016 / j.palaeo.2009.02.007