(NLDO) - A terrifying fossil in the Gobi desert has revealed a giant beast that existed 70 million years ago.
According to Sci-News, the new discovery of the Japanese-Mongolian paleontological research team is 13 monster footprints in the western Gobi Desert. The largest footprint is up to 92 cm in diameter, showing that the creature that owned it must have been extremely large.
Although not as “magnificent” as dinosaur bones, fossil footprints are very valuable to scientists. Because they not only reveal about the animal, but also show how it lived, moved and interacted with other species in the ancient environment.
A series of fossil footprints discovered in the Gobi Desert, an area in Mongolia - Photo: OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE
The new discovery in Mongolia is all the more significant because the 13 footprints were connected to an older footprint discovered in 2018 to form a continuous chain.
"They allow analysis of posture, walking style, speed and group behavior, details that cannot be inferred from bone fossils," said Dr. Shinobu Ishigaki, director of the Dinosaur Research Museum at Okayama University of Science (Japan) - team leader.
Analysis results showed that they belonged to a member of the genus Saurolophus, a group of Hadrosaurid dinosaurs, also known as "duck-billed dinosaurs" or "duck-billed dinosaurs".
Three of the newly discovered footprints in the Gobi are the largest prehistoric footprints ever found in the world.
They help scientists estimate the beast's enormous body: at least 15 meters long, even larger than a normal T-rex.
Previously, several members of the genus Saurolophus had been found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation in Canada and the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia. It is one of the few dinosaur genera to be found on multiple continents.
"Our discovery represents one of the largest bipedal animals ever to have lived in Mongolia, raising hopes of discovering similarly sized skeletons," the team said.
The record for the world's largest lizard currently belongs to Shantungosaurus (Shandong Lizard), discovered in Shandong province - China, about 15 m long and weighed about 13 tons when alive.
The footprints of the Mongolian beast suggest that it may have been larger than this Shandong Lizard.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/quai-thu-sa-mac-dai-15-m-lo-dau-vet-o-mong-co-196250204111759731.htm
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