Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Toothy dinosaur newest to come out of southern Utah

Toothy dinosaur newest to come out of southern Utah

October 04, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY -- The newest dinosaur species to emerge from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument had some serious bite, according to researchers from the Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah.

"It was one of the most robust duck-billed dinosaurs ever," said museum paleontologist Terry Gates, who is also with the U.'s Department of Geology and Geophysics. "It was a monster."




Researchers from the Utah museum, the national monument and California's Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology unearthed fossils of this ancient plant-eater from the rocks of the Kaiparowits Formation. Researchers announced the name of the creature - Gryposaurus monumentensis. (Gryposaurus means "hook-beaked lizard" and monumentensis honors the monument where the fossils were found.)

The first description of the duck-billed dinosaur - which dates to the Late Cretaceous Period 75 million years ago - appears in the Oct. 3 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

"Gryposaurus monumentensis is probably the largest dinosaur in the 75-million-year-old Kaiparowits fossil ecosystem," said Alan Titus, paleontologist for the national monument.

Gates, lead author on the study, explained that this creature could have eaten just about any vegetation it stumbled across. "With its robust jaws, no plant stood a chance against G. monumentensis," he said.

Scott Sampson, another paleontologist with the Utah museum who was involved with the project, emphasized the massively-built skull and skeleton, referring to the animal as the "Arnold Schwarzenegger of duck-billed dinosaurs."

Finding the skull

In 2002, a team from the Alf Museum, in Claremont, Calif., located at the Webb School, discovered the site that contained the skull used to describe the new creature. Every summer, the California institution, the only nationally-accredited paleontology museum on a high school campus, gives Webb students and volunteers the chance to participate in scientific field work.

The California team was working a stretch of Grand Staircase that Utah researchers had not examined. Duncan Everhart, a Pennsylvania furniture maker, is credited with finding the skull.

Don Lofgren, curator of the Alf Museum, said the team received permission from the monument to dig deeper in 2003.

"We determined it was a skull sitting upside down with the jaw on top," he said.

Once Gates went out to take a look in 2004, he quickly realized the California team had a potentially-important find. The Alf Museum gave the Utah researchers permission to prepare and study the skull.

Titus noted the discovery of this new species was a team effort involving the Alf Museum, the Utah Museum of Natural History and the national monument.

"The cooperative effort put into its collection and research has truly been a model for scientific investigation on public lands," he said.

It wasn't until Utah researchers began working on the skull in 2005 that the full significance of the find began to emerge, Gates said.

The well-preserved skull was initially missing key pieces from the nose region. Fortunately, the California museum had collected a box full of eroded bones, including bits of the nose bone, which was critical for identifying the creature.

"I knew immediately that we had some species of Gryposaurus," Gates said.

A toothy beast

The creature's large number of teeth embedded in the thick skull is among the features that made G. monumentensis, as well as other closely related duck-billed dinosaurs, such a successful herbivore.

At any given time, the dinosaur had over 300 teeth available to slice up plant material. Inside the jaw bone, there were numerous replacement teeth waiting, meaning that at any moment, this Gryposaur may have carried more than 800 teeth.

"IIt was capable of eating most any plant it wanted to," Gates said. "Although much more evidence is needed before we can hypothesize on its dietary preferences."

While the diet is unknown, given the considerable size of the creature, the massive teeth and jaws are thought to have been used to slice up large amounts of tough, fibrous plant material.

The teeth may hold important clues the dinosaur's eating habits. The Utah museum plans to study the composition of the dinosaur teeth, which when compared to other plant-eating dinosaurs from the Kaiparowits Formation, will help researchers decipher differences in diet.

G. monumentensis is one of several new dinosaur species found in Grand Staircase, including: a Velociraptor-like carnivore named Hagryphus, a tyrannosaur, and several kinds of horned dinosaurs. In all, more than a dozen kinds of dinosaurs have been recovered from these badlands, and most represent species that are new to science.

"This is a brand new and extremely important window into the world of dinosaurs," said Sampson.

Under ideal circumstances, paleontologists will find the skull and other key bones at the same site. In this case, the head was the only thing they managed to find from where the Alf team searched.

Researchers believe the head of this particular Gryposaur likely rolled into a bend of a river, where it was partly buried. The right half of the head remained exposed to the river current, dislodging several bones before this side was buried as well.

In other parts of the monument, Utah researchers have excavated bones believed to be from the same species. Gates estimates G. monumentensis may have grown up to 30 feet long as an adult.

"As each new find such as this new Gryposaur is made," Titus said, "it is placed into the greater context of an entire ecosystem that has remained lost for eons, and is only now coming under scientific scrutiny."

Life in 'West America'

Around 75 million years ago, southern Utah differed dramatically from today's arid desert and redrock country. During much of the Late Cretaceous, a shallow sea split North America down the middle, dividing the continent into eastern and western landmasses.

In what Sampson terms "West America," G. monumentensis and its fellow dinosaurs lived in a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the seaway to the east and rising mountains to the west. Due in large part to the presence of the seaway, the climate was moist and humid.

Thanks to more than 100 years of fossil collection, scientists know more about the Cretaceous dinosaurs from North American than they do from any other time or continent on Earth, Sampson noted.

While G. monumentensis gulped down its greens and tried to avoid predatory tyrannosaurs down in Utah, closely related but different species of duck-billed dinosaurs were doing the same thing farther north, in places like Montana and Alberta, Canada.

The new Utah species is proving crucial for determining patterns of duck-billed dinosaur evolution and ecology during the Late Cretaceous of North America, Gates said. He added that "this calls for a re-evaluation of previous ideas about the evolution of duck-billed dinosaurs across the world".

Earlier explanations of dinosaurs undertaking long distance migrations have gone out the window. "Now we have to figure out how so many different kinds of giants managed to coexist in such small areas," said Sampson. "We're just beginning to unravel this story.

Bones from G. monumentensis are on display at Big Water Visitor Center in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and for a short time at the Utah Museum of Natural History before returning to the Alf Museum.

University of Utah



Related Dinosaur Current Events and Dinosaur News Articles Dinosaur Current Events and Dinosaur News RSS Dinosaur Current Events and Dinosaur News RSS
Warm-blooded dinosaurs worked up a sweat
Were dinosaurs "warm-blooded" like present-day mammals and birds, or "cold-blooded" like present day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond deciding whether or not you'd snuggle up to a dinosaur on a cold winter's evening.

The last European hadrosaurs lived in the Iberian Peninsula
Spanish researchers have studied the fossil record of hadrosaurs, the so-called 'duck-billed' dinosaurs, in the Iberian Peninsula for the purpose of determining that they were the last of their kind to inhabit the European continent before disappearing during the K/T extinction event that occurred 65.5 million years ago.

The humble beginnings of a king
Tyrannosaurus rex and related large carnivorous dinosaurs together form the family Tyrannosauridae. A long forgotten fossil skull in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London has now provided crucial clues to the early stages of the lengthy evolutionary history of these fearsome predators.

New dinosaur species from Montana
A husband and wife team of American paleontologists has discovered a new species of dinosaur that lived 112 million years ago during the early Cretaceous of central Montana.

New analyses of dinosaur growth may wipe out one-third of species
Paleontologists from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Museum of the Rockies have wiped out two species of dome-headed dinosaur, one of them named three years ago - with great fanfare - after Hogwarts, the school attended by Harry Potter.

Do 3 meals a day keep fungi away?
The fact that they eat a lot - and often - may explain why most people and other mammals are protected from the majority of fungal pathogens, according to research from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

Crushed bones reveal literal dino stomping ground
Imagine the gruesome sound of bones snapping as a thirsty, 30-ton dinosaur tramples a heap of fresh carcasses on his way to a rapidly shrinking lake.

Chinese and American paleontologists discover a new Mesozoic mammal
An international team of paleontologists has discovered a new species of mammal that lived 123 million years ago in what is now the Liaoning Province in northeastern China.

Archaeopteryx was not very bird-like
New research published this week clips the wings of Archaeopteryx. First found in Germany in the 1860's and dating to 150 million years ago, Archaeopteryx has long been considered the iconic first bird.

Inside the first bird, surprising signs of a dinosaur
The raptor-like Archaeopteryx has long been viewed as the archetypal first bird, but new research reveals that it was actually a lot less "bird-like" than scientists had believed.
More Dinosaur Current Events and Dinosaur News Articles
Mattel SCREATURE Interactive Dinosaur

Mattel SCREATURE Interactive Dinosaur
by Mattel

Your own prehistoric pal! Dare pet his head? More bite than roar! Can you master Screature, or will you be his prey? Lifelike and realistic with ferocious sounds, Screature uses an infrared sensor to sense and attack his prey with your help. If you can control Screature, he will respond loyally to your petting, but if you pet him in the wrong place, Screature attacks! Set him in room guard mode and Screaturewill guard all your prized treasures! Screature is a mean little predator with a big appetite. Try me, open tray package. 3x 'AA' batteries included, with minor assembly required.

Dozen Jumbo Dinosaurs up to 6 inches long

Dozen Jumbo Dinosaurs up to 6 inches long
by Toy C

Set of 12 realistic toy dinosaur figures. Dinos are made from slightly flexible plastic, are hollow inside. Set includes: Ceratosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Stegosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Tyrannosaurus, Spinosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Velociraptor, Apatosaurus, Euoplocephalus, Triceratops, Styracosaurus.

My Big Dinosaur Book (My Big Board Books)

My Big Dinosaur Book (My Big Board Books)
by Roger Priddy (Author)



Scientific Explorer's My First Dinosaur Science Kit

Scientific Explorer's My First Dinosaur Science Kit
by Scientific Explorer

With My First Dino Kit, You're a real paleontologist! Use excavation tools to dig up a dinosaur skeleton and then classify and display your findings. Build a glow in the dark model, or grow and shrink some giant dinos, all while you learn about the prehistoric past. Did some dinosaurs have feathers? Are crocodiles as ancient as the dinosaurs? You'll find out. Ages 4+ adult supervision required.



Melissa & Doug Dinosaur Stamp Set

Melissa & Doug Dinosaur Stamp Set
by Melissa and Doug

Mix and match the 8-9 playfully detailed stamps to create hundreds of beautiful scenes, and then color in the pictures with the 5 colored pencils! Each themed set includes 2 colored inkpads. Ages 4+. Each set 8.75" x 8" x 2".

ZipBin Dinosaur Playset

ZipBin Dinosaur Playset
by Neat Oh

ZipBin is more than great-looking storage. It's a portable play world that unzips to reveal space to play, create and imagine. And it's easy to clean up... in a zip!

The Dinosaur storage bin's dramatic exterior theme identifies the contents and will look great in your child's room. When the bin is unzipped, it becomes a dinosaur island play mat, complete with a colorful island, a volcano, and oozing tar pit and a mysterious cave. When play is done, the play mat becomes the storage bin in a zip, capturing the toys inside. Includes four dinosaurs: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Saurolophus, Triceratops, and Compsognathus, 4-5" long. ZipBin measures approximately 16" x 13" x 9".

How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends

How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends
by Jane Yolen (Author)

What if a dinosaur's friends come to play? Does he mope, does he pout if he can't get his way? Does he hide all his dump trucks, refusing to share? Does he throw his friends' coloring books up in the air? Time and time again, children are told to "play nice." This brilliantly illustrated board book is packed with rhymes that will teach children how. Mark Teague's laugh-aloud illustrations, along with Jane Yolen's playful text, will show children that "playing nice" can be easy and fun. Perfect for parents to read aloud with their children, this book is as humorous as it is instructive.

Dinosaur

Dinosaur
Starring: D.B. Sweeney, Julianna Margulies, Samuel E. Wright, Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis
Directed By: Eric Leighton, Ralph Zondag
Also With: Ralph Zondag (Writer), John Harrison (Writer), Rhett Reese (Writer), Robert Nelson Jacobs (Writer), Shirley Pierce (Writer), Tamara Lusher (Writer)

Join the action-packed adventure of a group of dinosaurs overcoming enormous challenges through courage, loyalty, and hope in Disney's DINOSAUR, a special effects phenomenon! Set 65 million years ago, DINOSAUR tells the compelling story of an iguanodon named Aladar, who is separated from his own kind and raised by a clan of lemurs, including the wisecracking Zini and the compassionate Plio. When a devastating meteor shower plunges their world into chaos, Aladar and his family follow a herd of dinosaurs heading for the safety of the "nesting grounds." Along the way, Aladar befriends Baylene, the dignified, elderly brachiosaur with a take-no-prisoners attitude; Eema, the unstoppable styrachosaur; and Neera, a feisty fellow iguanodon. Together, they must stand strong amid food and water...

Fisher Price Spike Jr.

Fisher Price Spike Jr.
by Fisher Price

Meet Spike Jr.! The little dinosaur that comes bigger than life. He walks, laughs and roars at the touch of a button.

  Fisher-Price Imaginext Ultimate Dino
by Fisher-Price

Meet Spike, the dinosaur that kids bring to life at the touch of a button. He walks, he stands on his hind legs, he blinks, his mouth opens and closes, and his spikes even light up. You make it all happen with the easy-to-use remote control! Spike also makes lots of fun sounds, too. He growls, snorts, roars and more. Requires 3 "AA" alkaline batteries, not included. Also uses rechargeable 9.6 Volt NiMH battery, included (a $25 retail value)! Spike stands 27" tall.

© 2009 BrightSurf.com