Triceratops are only as big as a dog

Strange relatives of the triceratops reveal the effects of continental division on evolution.

Found baby triceratops fossil with a dog

At the end of the Cretaceous 66 - 100 million years ago, eastern North America was an island, divided by inland waters. This natural barrier can cause animals to live separately apart. While the western part of the island provides many rich dinosaur fossils, the eastern part remains a great mystery.

Many fossils formed on the east bank were destroyed during the Ice Age and the dense trees prevented researchers from finding the remaining fossils. The eastern island is called Appalachia in the ancient mountains where the first dinosaurs evolved, dubbed the "missing continent" because scientists know very little about the wildlife here.

Illustrations of leptoceratopsid dinosaurs.(Photo: Longrich).

According to IFL Science, the rare Appalachian dinosaur bone condition caused Dr. Nick Longrich of the University of Bath, USA, to consider the bone jaw found in North Carolina as a model to study in detail. He noticed bones coming from leptoceratopsid, a relative of Triceratops triceratops.

Eating grass and about the size of a large dog, leptoceratopsid dinosaur is like a pet. The shape of the jaw indicates that this dinosaur has mines. However, its jaw bone is thinner than similar species in the western island of the inland sea.

"Many animals and plants found in Australia today are quite different from other parts of the world. Similarly, animals in eastern North America at the end of the Cretaceous seem to evolve in a way different from those of the other Westrich lived apart for a long time , " Longrich said.

According to Longrich, the finding reinforces the hypothesis that the two regions are separated by a long sea area, preventing species from moving back and forth and forcing Appalachian animals to evolve in a completely different way, resulting in some The dinosaur has a strange shape.