A new species of dinosaur that lived 70 million years ago has been discovered in the Inner Mongolia region of northern China. It is given the name Gigantoraptor Erlianensis.The animal appeared to be a young adult 25 feet (7.6 meter) long and weighing 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg) and, if it had lived longer, would probably have grown even larger.
Gigantoraptor appears in an artist’s reconstruction, based on the scientific analysis, to have cut a menacing figure on the Cretaceous landscape. Rearing on its hind limbs, it spread out forelimbs tipped with sharp claws and prepared to bounce on prey with open mouth and strong beak.
Gigantoraptor was about 300 times as heavy as other similar dinosaurs and stood, at hips and shoulders, twice the height of a man. An examination of marks in the bones indicated that the young animal’s growth rate was considerably faster than that of North American tyrannosaurs, which the scientists said contributed to its giant size.
The scientists reported that “the animal reached its young adult size within seven years and was still at a relatively early young adult stage at the time of death,” which was probably in the 11th year of its life.
Their analysis also revealed “several salient features previously unknown in any other dinosaur,” such as in the vertebrae and the limb bones. The hind limbs were more slender than usual in such robust dinosaurs.
Source: New York Times
Tags: Dinosaur | Discovery | Gigantoraptor Erlianensis
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