New species of dinosaur with ‘eye-catching sail’ discovered on Isle of Wight | Dinosaurs
Scientists discovered a new kind of dinosaur with a “catchy sail” along his back and tail that could have been used to attract friends.
The Iguanodontian dinosaur, whose fossils were found on the island of Wight, was identified by Dr. Jeremy Lockwood, doctoral student at the University of Portsmouth and the Museum of Natural History.
The retired GP named it Istiorachis macaruthuraeA mixture of “Sail Spine” and a reference to Ellen MacArthur, who set a world record for the fastest solo sail travel in the world in 2005.
Before Lockwood’s analysis, the fossils, which go back to 125 meters, were supposed to belong to one of the two species of dinosaurs known on the island of Wight.
But after comparing the bones preserved with a similar dinosaurian bone database, it has become clear that the fossil was unique. Lockwood said: “Although the skeleton was not as complete as some of the others that were found, no one had really looked at these bones before … Unlike the others, it had particularly long neuronal thorns, which was very unusual.”
He said that the animal would probably have had a pronounced veil structure along its back. “The evolution sometimes seems to promote the extravagant on practice. Although the exact objective of these characteristics has long been debated – with theories ranging from the regulation of body heat to fat – the researchers think that the most likely explanation in this case is visual signaling, perhaps in the context of a sexual display to attract a partner.
“In modern reptiles, sailing structures often appear more in evidence in men, which suggests that these attributes have evolved to impress companions or intimidate the rivals. We think Istiorachis Maybe do a lot of the same. »»
Professor Susannah Maidment, of the Natural History Museum, said: “Jeremy’s careful study on fossils found in museum collections for several years has given life to the Iguandontian dinosaurs of the island of Wight.
“His work highlights the importance of collections like those of Dinosaur Isle, where fossil specimens are kept in perpetuity and can be studied and revised in light of new data and new ideas on evolution.”
