Dinosaurs of Patagonia.  What was their status just before extinction?

Behind the results in this case are scientists from the University of Texas at Austin, who describe their achievements in the pages South American Journal of Geosciences. Significantly, the authors primarily considered fossils of theropods, dating from 66 to 75 million years ago.

Read also: The body of a real giant was washed ashore by the waters. Nobody expected this whale here

For the most part, flightless dinosaurs were carnivores and were often at the top of the food chain. The analyzes performed indicate that there are two types of predators present in Patagonia simultaneously: Oninlagia And Megaraptor.

The dinosaurs studied in Patagonia date back to 66-75 million years ago

Representatives of the first were very diverse in size: some were similar in size to chickens, while others were more than 3 meters long. Their fossils, described in the mentioned publication, were found as far south as is recorded, and the animals themselves were probably covered with feathers. On the other hand, the second genus was one of the largest theropods found in South America in the late Cretaceous period.

Bird remains were also analyzed. These belong to two groups: ornithorae And Enantiornithes. The former include real birds, while representatives of the latter resemble, for example, sparrows, although their beaks were covered with teeth. For the first group, birds that lived in Patagonia millions of years ago could resemble geese or ducks, although additional analyzes are needed to confirm this.

One hypothesis is that the Southern Hemisphere – after our planet hit a space rock – was geared towards less extreme or less violent climate changes. Compared to the northern hemisphere of course. As a result, species from the north were able to migrate south, increasing their chances of survival. Perhaps in such conditions some animals survived and survive, in the course of evolution, to the present day.

Read also: Fried or hard? They found huge ostrich eggs 4,000 years ago. years. Who organized a bivouac here?

We still need to know how life coped with this apocalyptic scenario and gave rise to our southern environments in South America, New Zealand and Australia. Here theropods still exist—no longer as impressive dinosaurs as Megaraptors—but as a diverse group of birds found in the forests, swamps, and wetlands of Patagonia, as well as Antarctica and Australia.
concludes Marcelo Lippi, director of the Antarctic Institute in Chile

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Bingo! James Webb broke the barrier. The first light in the universe has just been discovered

Then began a large-scale phase in the history of our universe called…

This strange tube is frightening people. They are afraid to live in it, but it’s the future

newly space tourism Makes a real world feel. There are tens of…

Giant viruses attack microscopic algae in arctic epishephal lake

The analyzes were carried out in Cycling Lake Mile FjordIt is about…

There are 3 to 6 thousand people in Poland. Ukrainian scientists

There are 3-6 thousand people in Poland. Ukrainian scientists who have come…