Researchers said Friday that the remains of the “Gonkoken nanoi”, a type of herbivorous dinosaur previously not found in the Southern Hemisphere, have been discovered in Chilean Patagonia, a center of important fossil discoveries in recent years.
France Press agency
Up to four meters long, weighing a ton and endowed with a duck’s beak, this species lived 72 million years ago in the far south of Chile.
France Press agency
Alexandre Vargas, director of the Paleontology Network at the University of Chile and one of the authors of the study, describes a study published in the journal Science Advances on Friday and presented in Santiago.
France Press agency
The discovery of these remains from 2013 reveals that Chilean Patagonia served as a refuge for a very ancient species of hadrosaurs, duck-billed dinosaurs that were common in North America, Asia and Europe during the Cretaceous period.
France Press agency
Their presence in these remote southern lands has taken scientists by surprise, who will have to “understand how their ancestors got there,” according to Mr. Vargas.
France Press agency
“Gonkoken nanoi” is the fifth species of dinosaur discovered in Chile after “Chilesaurus diegosuarezi”, “Atacamatitan chilensis”, “Arackar licanantay” and “Stegouros elengassen” found in the same area.
The name Gonkoken comes from the language of the Tehuelche, the first inhabitants of the area until the end of the 19th century, and means “like a wild duck or swan”.
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