Scientists have unearthed in Mongolia the oldest and most complete fossil of a pachycephalosaur, a group of dinosaurs known for their dome-shaped skulls, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The fossil, which dates back between 108 and 115 million years, belongs to a juvenile from a previously unknown species that researchers are calling Zavacephale rinpoche. …
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From the sands of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert emerges a new, exquisitely preserved fossil that could revolutionize our understanding of pachycephalosaurs – those iconic dinosaurs sporting a dome of thick bone at the top of their heads. The newly discovered Zavacephale rinpoche is the oldest known pachycephalosaur ever found, with an age dating back at least 108 million years ago, pushing …
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Sues, H.-D. Functional morphology of the dome in pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. N. Jb. Geol. Palaontol. Mh. 8, 459–472 (1978). Google Scholar Snively, E. & Theodor, J. M. Common functional correlates of head-strike behavior in the pachycephalosaur Stegoceras validum (Ornithischia, Dinosauria) and combative artiodactyls. PLoS ONE 6, e21422 (2011). Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar Peterson, J. E., Dischler, C. …
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Paleontologists recently uncovered a new species of dinosaur with a remarkable set of characteristics, offering new insights into the evolutionary relationship between theropod dinosaurs and modern birds. The species, named Shri rapax, was identified from an almost complete and articulated skeleton that dates back to the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 75 to 72 million years ago. The discovery, described in …
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Paleontologists have identified a new species of dromaeosaurid dinosaur from an almost complete and articulated skeleton found in the 2000s in Mongolia. Life reconstruction of Shri rapax. Image credit: Connor Ashbridge / CC BY 4.0. The newly-identified dinosaur roamed our planet during the Campanian age of the Cretaceous period, between 75 and 72 million years ago. Based on several derived …
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A new study, published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal by Dr. Esther Jacobson-Tepfer, reveals an astonishing transformation in elk images in 12,000 years of Altai rock art in western Mongolia. Once drawn in realistic detail, elk gradually evolved into stylized, nearly unrecognizable wolf-like figures, reflecting deep transformations of environment, mobility, and identity. Stylized elk. Credit: Gary Tepfer, in Jacobson-Tepfer, Cambridge …
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