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Paleontologists have discovered a new type of dinosaur—even though no fossils exist.
Researchers in Munich, Germany, say they have made a surprising new discovery of a large, modern-day predatory dinosaur in Egypt. As reported in January 14 learning published in the magazine One PLOSresearchers investigated 95-million-year-old photos from before the Second World War.
“Obviously, the dinosaur fauna in North Africa was much different than we thought at first. This work shows that it would be beneficial for historians to dig not only under the ground, but also in ancient records,” Oliver Rauhut from the Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology and Geology , who participated in the study, explained in the organization’s publications. words.
In 1914, archaeologist Richard Markgraf unearthed the first skeleton in the Bahariya Oasis in Egypt. He sent the remains to paleontologist Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach in Munich, where they were preserved in the Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology and Geology in the Old Academy. Stromer chose a dinosaur as a species member Carcharodontosaurusa group of large carnivorous dinosaurs that lived in northern Africa about 99 million to 94 million years ago.
Thirty years later, Allied aircraft in Munich bombed the Old Academy, destroying parts of the school, including the so-called. Carcharodontosaurus. The only remains were photographs of bones, a few photographs, and Stromer’s notes. That is, until archeologist Maximilian Kellermann, a master’s student at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, found a large collection of archival photographs dating back to 1914. The images showed parts of the skull, the spine, and the hind legs, and revealed some unexpected things.
“What we saw in the old pictures surprised us all. The ancient Egyptian dinosaurs shown there are in stark contrast to the Carcharodontosaurus recently discovered in Morocco. “Stromer’s original classification was wrong,” said Kellermann, who led the study. Image of Tamerraptor.”
“Ta-mery” is an ancient Egyptian name meaning “beloved land,” according to the study, and raptor means “thief” in Latin, as a result. Tamerraptor it means “a thief from the beloved land.” “Markgrafi,” on the other hand, pays tribute to the collector of antiques.
Together with Elena Cuesta, from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Rauhut and Kellermann determined from the images that T. symbol It would have been around 33 meters long (10 m), making it one of the largest animals to ever walk the earth, and it had a prominent nasal horn and matching teeth. They also confirmed that the giant reptile was related to North Africa CarcharodontosaursThe group of dinosaurs was originally classified, as well as South America Carcharodontosaurs and Metriacanthosaurs—a group of predatory dinosaurs from Asia.
“However, a more detailed analysis of the Cretaceous carnivorous dinosaurs from the Bahariya Oasis would require the recovery of more fossils from the site,” Rauhut said.
However, it is fair to question how accurately one can interpret a new color from old black and white drawings and photographs. In this study, the researchers agree that the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature often advocates against “the design of things that the author only knows from descriptions and illustrations, but has not studied anything.” The team could not even confirm the date of the fossils. However, “we think this is a very special case where independent practice is appropriate,” he added, pointing to other issues within the proposal.
Perhaps future excavations will one day find real evidence of T. symbol. In the meantime, this could be another interesting example of ancient images leading scientists to new discoveries.
