2024-11-24 04:30:00
Patagonia has a very diverse dinosaur recordwhich covers almost their entire evolutionary history from 135 million years ago until the moment they disappeared from the face of the Earth. Several of the species described have scientific names that pay homage to women.
The last one is alexandri emiliasaurusmeaning “Fix and Carlos’ Emilia Ondettia lizard” “Alessandri.” But there are other species with female names: Cinco Salt Gaspar Nylon; Rosewood fragrance, soft lun isabella dragon. Farther south, researchers found Santa Marta Three Dragons In the Antarctic continent.
What we know about Emiliasaurus
alexandri emiliasaurus The species is represented by the Carmen Funes Museum in Huincul Square, Neuquén City, the Institute of Paleontology and Geology in Rio Negro General Rocca, the Ernesto Bachmann Municipal Museum in Villa El Chocon, the Provincial Identified by scientists from the Administration.
It was a herbivorous dinosaur that lived about 130 million years ago in what is now Neuquen.
It has two unique features: being the first in the family Rhydodonts Found in South America, it is the most primitive and dates back about 130 million years.
“In terms of ornithopods that were dedicated to women, there were a lot of them in northern Patagonia. emiliasaurus It’s the latest, the most recent,” he explained Diary of Rio Negro Paleontologist Rudolf Corea. As an author in the genre, he sought to ensure that the women being honored stood out for certain behaviors. “Emilia is the perfect candidate for her actions and her memories to be captured in scientific terms,” he described.
this is about Emilia Ondetti (Fix)Initiator of the Historical Museum of Las Lajas, Neuquen Province. He had a very strong exchange of information with Francisco Garrido, the first director of the Carmen Funes Museum in Piazza Huincul, Corea also led this entity and remains associated with it to this day.
«Grandma Emilia came into contact with the elements of Mrs. Carmen Funes, the pioneer of the Huincul Square. She brought them and we display them here. “I met her and she was a lovely woman,” the researcher said.
The team determined that Emiliasaurus was an ornithopod, herbivorous, bipedal, running, but not jumping, dinosaur. They were not very large, between 3 and 5 meters in length, and if you wanted to compare them to any animal today, they would be about the size of a rhea.
“Their legs were very well developed, adapted for running. Small arms and easy-to-prehensile hands,” Coria describes.
Why it stands out in the world
The significance of these specimens found near Las Lajas is that within the group of ornithopods there is a family called Baculodontusits registration is limited to Europe. Over the years, other dinosaur species found in Australia and North America began to be identified.
«Before the discovery of Emiliasaurus, no species of the genus Remodon had been found here: it was the first South American species and the most primitive. These are two different characteristics. Then we can say that the history of rahbodontes began in Las Lajas 130 million years ago,” Corea emphasized.
In the future, more ancient rododonts may be discovered in Patagonia, such as those found in the Jurassic rocks of Chubut.. That’s because the anatomy of Emiliasaurus shows that “South America must have an older history,” he stressed.
Corea noted that in order to distinguish one dinosaur from another, certain anatomical features need to be identified. The development of these anatomical features informs their evolutionary sequence.
European rhabdodonts had more advanced features than Emiliasaurus, suggesting they had an unknown, older history. Emiliasaurus is the first known dragon from this ancient history.
“It’s like looking for materials that appear on other continents that are very abundant, recognized and popular, but you don’t know where they came from or how they originated, and you find their granddaddy in South America,” he said.
There is a 50-million-year time lag between European rhabdodonts and Emiliasaurus. Although this group is still unknown for a lot of timea discovery that gives insight into the most primitive stages of history.
What was this discovery like?
The second part of the scientific name is dedicated to Carlos Alessandri, the man who reported the discovery of the bones. A resident of Las Lajas, he contacted the town’s museum, which contacted paleontologist Corea. That was in 2008. .
Researchers spent a lot of time identifying what type of ornithopod Emiliasaurus was because it was incomplete. «Working on the details is very slow. The matrices used to analyze anatomical features are huge. “It takes a lot of time to do the analysis,” the paleontologist said.
what is Cinco Salt Gaspar Nylon
Another dinosaur that commemorates the contributions of women is Cinco Salt Gaspar Nylon. oneArgentinian paleontologist Zulma Brandoni de Gasparini contributed to the study of Mesozoic reptiles in Patagonia. The species refers to Cinco Saltos in the town of Rio Negro, where the fossil was discovered in 1992. ) is devoted to the study of this species.
For Corea, the relevance is that it is the first ornithopod discovered in South America. “Prior to this discovery, this dinosaur was not known to have lived in South America. It was the first endemic. While ornithopods were also found in Rio Negro, they were species introduced from North America at the end of the Cretaceous , and therefore invasive. “This is the first to show that there is an endemic lineage,” he emphasizes.
This discovery was followed by a series of basal ornithopods in Patagonia, he concluded.
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What is the significance of the Emiliasaurus discovery in the study of South American dinosaurs?
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The discovery of the Emiliasaurus is a breakthrough in paleontology, as it not only adds to our understanding of the Rhabdodont family but also redefines ideas about the geographical distribution and evolutionary timeline of ornithopod dinosaurs. Before this find, the known species of this group were primarily limited to Europe. The identification of Emiliasaurus marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of South American dinosaurs, affirming that this continent had its own diverse fauna long before the more recognized European and North American species emerged.
Paleontologist Rudolf Corea and his team are hopeful that further excavations in Patagonia will yield even older specimens, which could offer more insights into the ancient ecosystems that existed in South America during the early Cretaceous period. This aligns with the ongoing exploration of the region, as researchers continue to investigate the evolutionary lineage of dinosaurs and their adaptations to various environments.
The Emiliasaurus discovery not only honors the legacy of Emilia Ondetti but also serves as a reminder of the potential for significant paleontological discoveries in underexplored regions, revealing the complex evolutionary saga of life on Earth.