Fossils Found in Texas Are New Dinosaur Species

Thirty-five years ago some bones were found in the Big Bend National Park. Back in the 90s, the original analysis was that the bones found were part of the Gryposaurus genus.

However, new analysis shows that the bones are more from something far more primitive than the Gryposaurus. The bones that were discovered showed:

a curved, aquiline nose and wide jaw shaped like two trowels laid side by side.

Comparing these bones to other dinosaurs for similarities and differences has lead to the following analysis:

Duck-billed dinosaurs were the most common herbivorous dinosaurs at the end of the Mesozoic Era and all had a similar-looking snout. Unlike other duck-billed dinosaurs of the time, the Big Bend fossils display a very distinct W-shaped lower jaw that created a wide, flattened scoop.

According to officials:

Around 80 million years ago, this particular dinosaur would have been shoveling through loose, wet sediment to scoop loosely-rooted aquatic plants from the tidal marshes of an ancient delta, where today lies the Chihuahuan desert.

The findings were recently published in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.