How many species of dinosaurs exist in total? How many are left to discover? Surely we will never fully know. But we know that the new species of dinosaur discovered in Siberia has no previous record.
Who found it? Some scientists from the Institute of Zoology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They were supported by a team from St. Petersburg State University (SPbEU) and the Kuzbas State Museum. During their research, they described a new species of theropod dinosaur from Siberia. And this is the first such find in Asia dating back to the Cretaceous period. That is what was reported to the media from the entity.
Clues in the bones
This dinosaur was named Kiyakursor (from the Latin Kiya River Corridor). He became the first Ceratosaurus found in sediments from the Cretaceous period of Asia. It was previously believed that they had become extinct in this territory 40 million years ago.
«We describe a new genus and species of dinosaur. We did it based on a fragment of an animal skeleton. This includes cervical vertebrae, humerus and a girdle element of the forelimb. Likewise, it has bones of the hind limb in an anatomical joint. This fragmentary skeleton was found on the bank of the Kiya River. This was stated by the acting head of the SPbEU Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Pavel Skuchas. «This is an important find for Russian paleontologists. It became the first proof that Ceratosaurus of the Cretaceous period they lived in Asia,” the researchers stressed.
Little feet
The new species of dinosaur discovered is from the family of ceratosaurs (horned lizards). They are a group of predatory dinosaurs (theropods) that soon separated from the common evolutionary trunk. They were the first evolutionarily successful group of predatory dinosaurs. During evolution, ceratosaurs had reduced limbs. Even large dinosaurs of this species had very small front legs, while their musculature was well developed, contrary to expectations.
