Calling all dinosaur fans – the South American full cousin of theVelociraptorhas been discovered in New Mexico . Dineobellator notohesperuslived alongside theTyrannosaurus rexin the recent Cretaceous catamenia some 67 million twelvemonth ago , make it one of the last known survive raptor species . A feathered predator , Dineobellatoronly stood at about 1 meter tall ( 3.5 feet ) , but thanks to its unique stern , the raptor had unbelievable lightness .
As detailed in Nature’sScientific Reports , fossils of the novel species , a appendage of the dromaeosaurid class ( popularly sleep together as “ raptors ” ) , were first uncovered back in 2008 . Steven Jasinski , a curator of palaeontology and geology at the State Museum of Pennsylvania , and colleagues found 20 identifiable bones of the fresh bird of prey in Cretaceous rocks of the San Juan Basin , New Mexico . As the first significant dromaeosaurid skeleton unearthed in this part of the world , Dineobellatorwill bestow to scientists ’ agreement of what life was like in the region towards the end of the dinosaur ’s sovereignty .
“ While dromaeosaurids are well known from place like the northern United States , Canada , and Asia , minuscule is live of the group farther to the south in North America , ” Jasinski said in astatement . Ancestors ofDineobellatorarethought to havemigrated from Asia to North America , before evolving into multiple descent of dromaeosaurids , including the one observe by Jasinski and his team .
name after the masses who currently live in the region where the dinosaur once roam , Dineobellator notohesperus , have in mind “ Navajo warrior from the Southwest , ” was a swift predator . Although softly built , feature of the raptor ’s forelimb , include blown-up areas of the claw , suggest it could hold on to smaller animals such as bird and lizard , whilst its arm could be powerfully flex to tackle other dinosaur .
Perhaps one ofDineobellator ’s most unique and advantageous characteristics was its rudder - like tail , also seen in top predators such ascheetahs .
“ Think of what bump with a cat ’s tail as it is running , ” Jasinski explained . “ While the tail itself remains straight , it is also trounce around constantly as the animal is changing direction . A stiff tail that is extremely mobile at its root give up for increased lightness and change in direction and potentially aidedDineobellatorin pursuing prey , particularly in more open habitat . ”
In thisDineobellator ’s suit , a nick mark on one of its claw suggests an altercation with another one of its species , or perhaps even aT - rex , the author think over . But the raptor carried all this hunting out in style , as small protrusion on the Earth’s surface of its bones imply thatDineobellatorbore feathers , similar to those generalise forVelociraptor .
“ It was with a lot of searching and a bit of luck that this dinosaur was found weathering out of a small hillside , ” Jasinski remarked . “ We do so much tramp , and it is easy to overlook something or simply walk on the wrong side of a hill and overlook something . We trust that the more we search , the better hazard we have of discover more ofDineobellatoror the other dinosaurs it lived alongside . ”
