Two new dinosaur species have been discovered in Romania

The end of the Cretaceous, 66 million years ago, marked the dramatic extinction of dinosaurs after the impact of an asteroid. Until now, the understanding of this mass extinction has been largely determined by the fossils of North America. But a new study, led by Dr. Verónica Díez Díaz del Museum Für Naturkunde Berlin, highlighted the crucial role of the discoveries of European fossils to provide a more complete image of this extinction episode.

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The researchers reported on two new species of sauropods, Petrustitan Hungaricus and Uriash Kadici, found in the Ha? Eg, rich in fossils, in western Romania. In the Cretaceous, this area was a large island of the size of Ireland.

The results, published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, reveal that the diversity of these herbivores long -neck herbivores in Europe during the upper cretaceous was much greater than it was previously believed.

Fifteen years ago, only five species of sauropods of this period of time were known. Until now, at least 11 have been identified, unlike North America, where only a kind of sauropod of the same era has been documented.

Connections with other continents

The study has also demonstrated the connections between European dinosaurs and their relatives in Africa, Asia and South America. Professor Paul Upchurch co -author (University College London) said in a statement: “Migrations provided by temporary terrestrial bridges or even swimming through the seas more than 500 kilometers may have contributed to this diversity.”

Díez Díaz said: “The extraordinary diversity in a small geographical area like the island ha? Eg is remarkable. Here sauropods of various sizes coexisted: from giants more than 10 meters long and 8 tons of weight to dwarves only 2.5 meters long and less than 1 ton of weight. This provides fascinating information about the environmental conditions that allowed the coexistence of different species. ”

Traditionally, it was believed that dinosaurs of what was then the island ha? Eg adapted to their limited habitat making themselves smaller, a phenomenon known as “island dwarfism.” However, the discovery of the Great Uriash Sauropod defies this assumption. Dr. Zoltán CSIKI-SAVA, from the University of Bucharest, said: “Local evolution was more complex than previously thought, which shows that not all species reduced their size.”

Although this research has expanded our understanding of European titanosaurios, much remains to be discovered. Díez Díaz said: “The new fossil deposits continuously contribute new material that helps us better understand the past.” The team is confident that fossil discoveries in Europe will continue to change our understanding of the Cretaceous.