A team of paleontologists in Argentina has discovered a new species of dinosaur that was likely an apex predator when it roamed Patagonia over 80 million years ago, CNN reports.
Sky News reports that the species has been dubbed “Llukalkan aliocranianus.” According to the site, the word “Llukalkan” comes from the native Mapuche language and means “one who causes fear” and “aliocranianus” is Latin for “different skull.”
CNN reports that the dinosaur’s fossilized remains included a “superbly preserved and uncrushed braincase” that was unearthed in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation in Argentina.
According to CNET, the dinosaur was over 16 feet long and had a short head that was adorned with bulging bones that would make it resemble a jumbo-sized Gila monster. BBC adds that the beast was estimated to weigh between 1 and 5 tons.
- “This is a particularly important discovery because it suggests that the diversity and abundance of abelisaurids were remarkable, not only across Patagonia, but also in more local areas during the dinosaurs’ twilight period,” said Federico Gianechini, the lead author of a recently published paper on the dinosaur, according to CNET.
Sky News reports that despite the exciting discovery, Gianechini and his team believe there is still a lot more information to unearth.
- “This discovery also suggests that there are likely more abelisaurid (link added) out there that we just haven’t found yet, so we will be looking for other new species and a better understanding of the relationship among furilesaurs,” he said (via SkyNews).