Scientists discover duck-billed dinosaur roamed Chile 72 million years ago

[Judi Lynn]

A paleontologist checks fossilised bones of the 'Gonkoken nanoi', a newly identified duck-billed dinosaur, that inhabited the Chilean Patagonian area, at El valle del rio de las Chinas, near Torres del Paine, Magallanes and Antarctic region, Chile, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on June 15, 2023.

PHOTO: Universidad de Chile/ Handout via Reuters

PUBLISHED ON
JUNE 17, 2023 11:26 PM


SANTIAGO — A duck-billed herbivorous dinosaur roamed the ancient and remote river plains of Patagonia in southern Chile some 72 million years ago, a new study revealed on Friday (June 16).

Scientists have dubbed the dinosaur Gonkoken nanoi and say it weighed up to a metric ton and could grow to 4 metres (13.12 feet) in length according to the study published in Science Advances.

In 2013, an expedition led by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) discovered fragments of yellowish bones at the bottom of a hillside close to the major tourist destination Torres del Paine in Patagonia. This kicked off an almost decade-long investigation.

"At first, we thought it was from the same group as other South American hadrosaurs, but as the study progressed, we realised that it was something unprecedented," said Jhonathan Alarcon, the main author of the study.

More:
https://www.asiaone.com/world/scientists-discover-duck-billed-dinosaur-roamed-chile-72-million-years-ago

[Judi Lynn]

1. Remains of new species of duck-billed dinosaur found in Chile

June 18, 2023

SANTIAGO (AFP) – Remains of a species of herbivorous dinosaur previously unknown in the southern hemisphere have been discovered in Chile, challenging long-held beliefs about the range of duck-billed dinosaurs, scientists said on Friday.

Measuring up to four metres in length and weighing a tonne, Gonkoken nanoi lived 72 million years ago in the extreme south of what is now Chilean Patagonia.

“These were slender-looking dinosaurs, which could easily adopt a bipedal and quadrupedal posture to reach the vegetation at height and at ground level,” director of the paleontological network of the University of Chile Alexander Vargas, who is also an author of the study published by the Science Advances and presented in Santiago.

The discovery demonstrated that Chilean Patagonia served as a refuge for very ancient species of hadrosaurs, a type of duck-billed dinosaur common in North America, Asia and Europe during the Cretaceous period, from 145 to 66 million years ago.

More:
https://borneobulletin.com.bn/remains-of-new-species-of-duck-billed-dinosaur-found-in-chile/