Discover small dinosaurs like chickens in the United States

A University of Calgary researcher who analyzed dinosaur bones obtained after ancient bone excavation near Red Deer (Alberta) discovered a strange dinosaur. It was about the size of a chicken, ran on two feet and scoured the forest floor for food. It is the smallest dinosaur discovered in North America.

Nick Longrich, a paleontologist from the Department of Biological Sciences, said: 'This is a strange animal. They have long, slender legs, rafted arms with large claws and tweezers-like jaws. They are like animals created by Dr. Seuss. This may be the smallest dinosaur discovered in North America so far. '

Named after Albertonykus borealis, this slender bird-like creature is a new member of the family Alvarezsauridae and is also one of the few fossils discovered outside of South America and Asia. In the paper published in the current issue of Cretaceous Research, Longrich and paleontologist Philip Currie (University of Alberta) described the specimen and explained that the modified animal specifically adapted to eat termites using two small but healthy front limbs to remove wood.

'Its front limbs are shorter than Tyrannosaurus dinosaurs but are very healthy so they are used for some purpose. The forelimbs were used for digging but too short for burrowing, so we thought it might be used to peel or break wood in search of insects. '

Illustration dinosaur species Albertonykus borealis.(Photo: Nick Longrich)

Longrich studied the 70 million-year-old bone collected after an excavation at Dry Island, Buffalo Jump Park in 2002, directed by Currie, where more than 20 individuals of Albertosaurus sarcophagus remain. Albertosaurs are also a type of tyrannosaur. The bones are preserved at the Royal Tyrell Museum. Longrich stumbles upon them while trying to compare Albertosaurus claws with the claws of another dinosaur.

"This is the oldest and most complete dinosaur in its family in North America," he said. It has provided evidence that these dinosaurs have moved to Asia, passing through North America. ' Longrich is an ancestor researcher of dinosaurs living in birds. He holds a Ph.D. from Calgary University under the supervision of zoologist professor Anthony Russell. In September 2006, Longrich argued that the first ancestor of birds, a hairy creature named Archeopteryx, seemed to have flown with wings growing on all four limbs after he studied the chemistry. Jelly was collected in Germany in 1861.

He said: 'You can find amazing things if you always try to find fossils in the museum collection. The number of discoveries on dinosaurs is increasing because we are always looking for more information to research. '

Refer:
Longrich et al.Albertonykus borealis, a new alvarezsaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Maastrichtian of Alberta, Canada: implications for the systematics and ecology of the Alvarezsauridae.Cretaceous Research, August 2008;DOI: 10.1016 / j.cretres.2008.07.005