Remains of a new species of small winged carnivorous dinosaur, having lived in Patagonia 90 million years ago, have been discovered in Argentina, paleontologists announced on Thursday, who believe that this specimen could provide information about the evolution of birds. The remains of the animal, which did not exceed a meter and a half long, were found on a site in the province of Rio Negro (center), some 1,100 km south of Buenos Aires, according to the Disclosure Agency scientist from the National University of La Matanza.
🤩Las ilustraciones de @Gabrielluislio nos ayudan a imaginar cómo era este Overoraptor chimentoi que, según el becario @_matiasmotta del @LACEV_MACN, es nuevo integrante dentro el grupo de dinosaurios carnívoros denominados paravianos.
⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/dcGUvXSd7A
The new species has been named Overoraptor chimentoi and belongs to the group of carnivorous dinosaurs called Paraves, said Matias Motta, a researcher at the Argentine Museum of Natural Science (MACN). The first finds date from 2013, then, during a second campaign, in 2018, other remains were found.
A bird able to run
“This animal had a very sharp claw on its index finger, which it surely used to attack its prey. It also had elongated legs, which indicates that it was a running animal, "said Matias Motta, lead author of a study published in The Science of Nature . According to him, "this animal belongs to a new group of dinosaurs in the southern hemisphere, it was surely fast, agile and like its congeners [and] must be carnivorous".
Scientists were surprised to find that the legs of this specimen were similar to those of a raptor, while the upper part (of the legs) was robust and elongated, similar to that of modern birds, they explained. Until this discovery, all the carnivorous dinosaurs having a bird appearance discovered in Patagonia belonged to the group of Unenlagia, they were agile and walked on their hind legs. "Contrary to what we thought at the beginning, the Overoraptor is not part of the Unenlagia family, but of another group which includes a species from Madagascar called Rahonavis", explained the paleontologist Fernando Novas.
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