Nature & Environment
'Cursed' Dinosaur Found To Have T-Rex Arms In Argentina
Brooke James
First Posted: Jul 14, 2016 06:17 AM EDT
Scientists in rural Argentina found themselves in one misfortune to another in order to bring a new species of dinosaur in paleontology. Considering what they had to go through, it seems that the name is apt: Gualicho, the word for "curse."
According to USA Today, the scientists who were digging the fossils found problems piled on them, ranging from bureaucratic interference to serious truck accidents. Gualicho shinyae was found on the second-to-last day of the team on site, with study co-author Peter Makovicky recalling that he jokingly ordered one of his teammates to "go find something."
And she did, just minutes later.
The Gualicho is similar to the T-rex, by the way, Phys.org noted that scientists are still not sure why the T.rex had comically small forelimbs, but it seems that the look is all the rage in that period because the Gualicho has similarly short, two-fingered claws.
The Gualicho is a theropod - a two-legged, bird-like dinosaur, and only one of two species discovered so far. However, it is said to be on a different branch of the family, meaning that his limbs evolved independently, not rising from a common short-armed ancestor.
Makovicky, who is also the curator of dinosaurs at the Field Museum shared, "Gualicho is kind of a mosaic dinosaur, it has features that you normally see in different kinds of theropods/ It's really unusual-it's different from the other carnivorous dinosaurs found in the same rock formation, and it doesn't fit neatly into any category."
The skeleton, as described in the journal PLOS One, is said to be so far incomplete, but scientists believe that it could weigh around a thousand pounds and may be comparable to a polar bear. Despite the large size, however, its forelimbs are the size of a human child's, and like the T.rex, it has two digits - a thumb and a forefinger. The Gualicho does not explain why theropods have reduced forelimbs, but it does add proof that the trait evolved mumerous times.
"By learning more about how reduced forelimbs evolved, we may be able to figure out why they evolved," Makovicky explained.
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First Posted: Jul 14, 2016 06:17 AM EDT
Scientists in rural Argentina found themselves in one misfortune to another in order to bring a new species of dinosaur in paleontology. Considering what they had to go through, it seems that the name is apt: Gualicho, the word for "curse."
According to USA Today, the scientists who were digging the fossils found problems piled on them, ranging from bureaucratic interference to serious truck accidents. Gualicho shinyae was found on the second-to-last day of the team on site, with study co-author Peter Makovicky recalling that he jokingly ordered one of his teammates to "go find something."
And she did, just minutes later.
The Gualicho is similar to the T-rex, by the way, Phys.org noted that scientists are still not sure why the T.rex had comically small forelimbs, but it seems that the look is all the rage in that period because the Gualicho has similarly short, two-fingered claws.
The Gualicho is a theropod - a two-legged, bird-like dinosaur, and only one of two species discovered so far. However, it is said to be on a different branch of the family, meaning that his limbs evolved independently, not rising from a common short-armed ancestor.
Makovicky, who is also the curator of dinosaurs at the Field Museum shared, "Gualicho is kind of a mosaic dinosaur, it has features that you normally see in different kinds of theropods/ It's really unusual-it's different from the other carnivorous dinosaurs found in the same rock formation, and it doesn't fit neatly into any category."
The skeleton, as described in the journal PLOS One, is said to be so far incomplete, but scientists believe that it could weigh around a thousand pounds and may be comparable to a polar bear. Despite the large size, however, its forelimbs are the size of a human child's, and like the T.rex, it has two digits - a thumb and a forefinger. The Gualicho does not explain why theropods have reduced forelimbs, but it does add proof that the trait evolved mumerous times.
"By learning more about how reduced forelimbs evolved, we may be able to figure out why they evolved," Makovicky explained.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone