Painful death in the ditch of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago

The impressive dead posture stored in the fossil record from 66 million years ago shows the slow and painful death of the dinosaur in the mud pit.

The intact skeleton of a new dinosaur named Tongtianlong limosus , means "mud-dug dragon in the sky" was discovered in hard mud-forming rocks, according to Seeker. In the study published in Scientific Reports yesterday, scientists describe the dinosaur that tried to struggle in desperation to escape the mud hole with wide wings and the neck extending, before experiencing the Slowly and painfully.

Tongtianlong limosus dinosaur simulation graphics before death.(Photo: Seeker).

Researcher Stephen Brusatte of the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, England and colleagues believe that the dinosaurs unfortunately died in the mud pit about 66 - 72 million years ago."This is one of the most beautiful but also sadest fossils I've ever met," Brusatte commented.

The bipedal dinosaur belongs to the oviraptorosaur family , which consists of feathered dinosaurs, low stature, pointed beaks and no teeth. Some of them have crests on the top of their heads, which may be intended to attract mates and intimidate their opponents.

According to Brusatte, the winged dinosaur resembles a bird but cannot fly."If you meet him when you're alive, I bet you'll think it's a pretty big strange bird. It's about the size of a small sheep or donkey," Brusatte said.

Experts studying dinosaur fossils.(Photo: Junchang Lu).

Construction workers in Cam Chau, China discovered the Tongtianlong limosus fossil when using explosives to dig a foundation to build schools. Not only did he reveal the dead posture of the animal, fossils also helped researchers better understand the ecosystem just before the meteorite collided with Earth 66 million years ago, killing all non-dinosaurs. they birds.

Tongtianlong limosus is the 6th egg-eating dinosaur fossil since the end of the Cretaceous period in Cam Chau. Although there are relatives, each of the fossil groups has a different appearance, showing that they evolved in a very rich direction.