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Paleontologists in Argentina have uncovered an unusualdinosaurskull that belonged to an " armless , " tiny - brained carnivore that lived about 70 million years ago , a fresh subject area finds .
The newfound mintage — namedGuemesia ochoaifor General Martín Miguel de Güemes , a hero of the Argentine War of Independence — is a penis of Abelisauridae , a clade of carnivore that roamed what is now South America , Africa and India during the dinosaur years .
The newfound dinosaurGuemesia ochoaimay have looked a bit like this other abelisaurid illustrated here, the hornedCarnotaurus sastrei.
It ’s potential thatG. ochoaiis a close congeneric of the ancestors of abelisaurids , the research worker said . However , G. ochoaiis different from its abelisaurid relatives in two key room : It miss horn , perhaps because abelisaurid ancestor had n’t germinate these pointy skewers yet ; and it belike lived in what is now northern Argentina where its skull was found , far away from most abelisaurid stay in Patagonia , southerly Argentina , suggesting that this dinosaur group could experience in varied ecosystems .
" This new dinosaur is quite unusual for its kind , " study atomic number 27 - author Anjali Goswami , a research loss leader at the Natural History Museum in London , say in a statement . " It shows that the dinosaurs that live in this region were quite different from those in other portion of Argentina , supporting the idea of trenchant provinces in theCretaceousof South America . "
relate : Image gallery : Tiny - armed dinosaurs
As this skeleton shows,Tyrannosaurus rexhad puny arms.
Abelisaurids in all likelihood preyed on long - necked titanosaur , an telling feat given that their tiny munition werevestigial and essentially useless . They were n’t the only theropod — or bipedal , mostly meat - eating dinosaur — with forgetful arms . Tyrannosaurus rexhas embarrassingly short arms for its stature , although its arms were longer than those of abelisaurids andunpublished research suggeststhat the dinosaur king could use its wee arms to bring prey in conclusion .
With such puny arm , abelisaurids had to take down quarry almost entirely with their skulls and fearsome jaws .
The skull is all that ’s leave of thisG. ochoaiindividual . So , after investigator uncover it in the Los Blanquitos Formation near Amblayo , they got to work study it . The team analyse the dinosaur ’s well - preserved braincase , or the area where the brain sat . Like other abelisaurids , G. ochoai ’s cranium was small , indicate that it had a little brain . In fact , its entire cranium is about 70 % smaller than its abelisaurid relatives , suggesting that this individual was a juvenile person , although this affair is not yet settled .
The enquiry team of Argentine and U.K. scientist also noticed a unique feature call in foramina , or rows of small holes at the front of the skull . These hole could have helpedG. ochoaicool down when the animal pump ancestry into the sparse peel at the front of its headway , where it could unblock heat energy , the researchers said .
— Photos : Newfound Tyrannosaurus rex had about 3 - in - long teeth
— picture : Newfound dinosaur had midget arms , just like T. rex
— Photos : petite tyrannosaur dinosaur was about as great as T. rex ’s skull
There are already 35 other abelisaurid specie described from Argentina , but nearly all of them are from Patagonia . The discovery ofG. ochoaiand other extraordinary paleo - species , such asa huge turtlewith a 3 - foot - long ( 1 metre ) shell , in this northern neighborhood suggest that it was a singular part of the world during the late Cretaceous .
researcher hope to unwrap more specimens ofG. ochoaiand its relatives so they can learn more about aliveness in ancient Argentina . The bailiwick was published online Feb. 10 in theJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology .
Originally publish on Live Science .
