INAH and UNAM identify new dinosaur species in Coahuila, Mexico

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Through a press release, the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced the findings of a research study conducted by paleontologists from the Federal Government agency.

Specialists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) were also involved in the research, which consisted of the successful recovery of the remains of the articulated tail of a dinosaur in the Guadalupe Alamitos Ejido, in Coahuila.

Although the research began in 2013, researchers were only able to determine this year that the skeleton belongs to a previously unknown dinosaur species: Tlatolophus galorum, the first parasarolophid reported in Mexico, according to the report published in Cretaceous Research.

Felisa Aguilar Arellano and Ángel Alejandro Ramírez Velasco asserted that one of the team’s priorities was to recover the remains promptly and rigorously; however, the researcher explained that once they rescued the tail that was exposed to rain and erosion, they continued excavating and found other bones such as the femur, the scapula and “other elements,” among which a very particular piece in the shape of a drop emerged.

“At the time I said that it was part of the pelvis, but another participant in the project, José López Espinoza, said that it was the head of the animal,” explained Ramírez Velasco.

After the collection, cleaning and analysis of 34 other bone fragments, finally the pieces matched and the scientists determined that they were looking at the dinosaur’s crest, as well as its upper and lower jaws, palate and the segment known as the neurocranium, where its brain was located.

After having identified each of the recovered remains, the paleontologists began the task of comparing them with other hadrosaur species known in the region to determine if they belonged to these specimens.

However, the examination showed that both the crest and the nose were different from a species known as Velafrons and more similar to that of the parasaurolophins. In addition, the droplet-shaped crest also did not match the tubular crest of Parasaurolophus, one of the species known to have inhabited present-day New Mexico and Utah, as well as Alberta, Canada, and which has been portrayed in films such as Jurassic Park.

“After all these findings, we were convinced that we were looking at a new genus and species of crested dinosaur,” said Felisa Aguilar, co-author of the research, which has been confirmed by the scientific community after being submitted for review and endorsed by three specialists in the field from outside the project, who allowed its publication.

INAH and UNAM researchers named the dinosaur Tlatolophus galorum, which can be translated as “word crest” due to the peculiar shape of the upper part of its skull. This name, in addition to paying homage to the virgule, a symbol used by Mesoamerican peoples to represent communicative action, also refers to the same communicative function of the lambeosaurids, since having numerous connections with the trachea and nose, they emitted a sound similar to that of a trumpet.

“We know that they had ears capable of picking up low-frequency sounds, so they must have been peaceful but talkative dinosaurs. Some paleontologists theorize that they emitted loud sounds to scare off carnivores or for breeding purposes, suggesting that the crests were brightly colored,” explains Angel Ramirez.

The articulated tail of Tlatolophus galorum is currently on display in the municipal capital of General Cepeda, where an exhibit has been set up for local residents and other visitors to see the remains of this ancient inhabitant of the Earth.

Source: Infobae