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An international team of paleontologists has identified a new genus and a new species of lambeosaurine hadrosaur from fossils excavated in Morocco, North Africa.
An artist’s impression of a group of hadrosaurs. Image credit: Raul Martin.
The newly discovered dinosaur, nicknamed Ajnabia odysseus, wandered our planet some 66 million years ago during the Maastricht age of the late Cretaceous.
The ancient creature was a member of the Hadrosauridae, a large family of plant-eating dinosaurs that grew up to 15 m (50 feet) in length.
But Ajnabia odysseus it was only 3 m (10 ft) long, very small compared to its peers.
“The discovery of the new fossil in a mine just hours from Casablanca was the last thing in the world you would expect,” said lead author Dr Nicholas Longrich, a paleontologist at the Milner Center for Evolution at the university. of Bath.
“It was completely out of place, like finding a kangaroo in Scotland. Africa was completely isolated from water, so how did they get there? “
The fossilized jaws and teeth of Ajnabia odysseus were found in the mines of the Chérifien des Phosphates Office in Sidi Chennane, in the Khouribga province of Morocco.
Fossils show that it belonged to Lambeosaurinae, a subfamily of hadrosaurs with elaborate bony head crests.
These dinosaurs evolved in North America before spreading to Asia and Europe, but have never been found in Africa before.
Because Africa was an island continent in the late Cretaceous, isolated by deep sea routes, they must have traversed hundreds of kilometers of open water – rafting on debris, floating or swimming – to colonize the continent.
Hadrosaurs were likely powerful swimmers – they had wide tails and powerful legs and are often found in river deposits and sea rocks, so they may have simply swam for distance.
“It was impossible to walk to Africa,” said Dr. Longrich.
“These dinosaurs evolved long after continental drift divided continents and we have no evidence of land bridges.”
“Geology tells us that Africa was isolated from the oceans. In that case, the only way to get there is water. “
“As far as I know, we are the first to suggest ocean crossings for dinosaurs.”
The results were published in the journal Cretaceous research.
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Nicholas R. Longrich et al. The first duck-billed dinosaur (Hadrosauridae: Lambeosaurinae) from Africa and the role of ocean dispersion in dinosaur biogeography. Cretaceous research, published online November 2, 2020; doi: 10.1016 / j.cretres.2020.104678
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