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Who doesn’t love dinosaurs, right? I’ve been fascinated by them for as long as I remember. Those amazing, dragon-like creatures from the past used to stir my imagination and make me wonder what this planet was like under their reign. And, most of all, what it really was that wiped them off the face of the earth.
Despite how much I’ve read and investigated about them, dinosaurs have never ceased to interest me and surprise me. I still hungrily devour every piece of information and news I find about them. Like the one I am going to tell you about. Since its publishing in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology on March 30th, 2021, all the dino-loving community has been super excited about it.
I am taking you on a trip to the northwestern part of Argentinean Patagonia, specifically to the Bajo de la Carpa Formation. Take a jacket, it’s going to be cold and windy. We are going to watch a team of paleontologists unearth the skull of a new species of carnivorous dinosaur, a close cousin of the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex.
After a careful study of the dinosaur’s bone remains, scientists have been able to estimate their age to be of approximately 85 million years, sometime at the end of the Cretaceous epoch. Let me tell you, this gentleman is OLD!
They officially named the new species Llukalkan Aliocranianus. The first part of the name comes from Mapudungun (the native language of the Mapuche indigenous tribe who still inhabit the area). Translated to English, it means “The one who causes fear”.
“Aliocranianus”, on the other hand, comes from Latin and refers to the fact that his skull shape is pretty unusual. And it does look kind of different, doesn’t it?
According to specialists, these sinus pouches used to be filled with air, which gave the newly found dino a superior sense of hearing.
An astonishing fact about this discovery is that the dinosaur’s brainbox was practically intact, which has allowed the researchers to examine its internal part with the means of tomography. The images they’ve received made it possible to make informed speculations about what the brain must have looked like.
Llukalkan Aliocranianus’s discovery was actually completely coincidental, and it happened by sheer luck. The team of paleontologists was in fact hoping to dig up a totally different species, a herbivore, long-necked sauropod similar to Brontosaurus.
But why were they even in the area? Well, the skull was not the first finding in that part of Argentina. A few years ago, bones of the biggest dinosaur ever discovered – a 20–meter tall Argentinosaurus – were dug up in that same area. To give you an idea of how tall that is – try to picture a 7-story building!
But let’s go back to our scary Llukalkan, shall we? Although not as impressive in size as its plant-eating neighbor, our beast was no dwarf either. The experts estimate that the average length of an adult specimen was about 5 m, which is comparable with the size of a pickup truck.
Our carnivore friend has been classified as a member of the Abelisauridae family, whose distinctive feature is the fact that they walked on their hind limbs, which were strong and thick.
Abel’s lizards – as this is the meaning of their name – are also famous for extensive ornamentation of their skull bones, crests above the eyes, and a relatively small head, just like L. aliocranianus’s.
The forelimbs of those prehistoric Godzilla-like lizards were much smaller than the hind ones, the forearm being disproportionately short in comparison with the upper arm.
Judging by Llukalkan’s skull appearance, it must have had an exceptionally strong bite. Just like for the other members of the same family, its teeth were most likely sharp like a knife.
Along with huge claws, exceptional hearing, and a great sense of smell, the fearsome dinosaur was undoubtedly a voracious and merciless predator.
For those of you who wonder if the bumps and bulges on the dinosaur’s head were merely ornamental or whether they served any purpose, researchers believe that it was a way to differentiate between males and females.
A possible horn, which – although not appearing on the official artistic representation of L. aliocranianus by Jorge Blanco, might have been part of the male anatomy. According to specialists, they were used as a fighting tool.
You might be asking yourselves why so much ado about a few dinosaur bones. Haven’t we already discovered thousands of them?
According to the research team leader, Federico A. Gianechini, a paleontologist at the Multidisciplinary Institute of Biological Investigations in San Luis, Argentina, what makes the discovery of L. aliocranianus so interesting is the fact that it opens a new field for investigation. The fascinating skull design – namely the sizable cavities in the ear area – implies a brand-new set of skills that are yet to be examined and explained.
The Patagonian fossil bones also prove that the dinosaur family tree as we know it today is far from complete. That feels both specialists and fans like myself with great enthusiasm. Who knows what other prehistoric creatures we are yet to unearth and what secrets they hold? I will make sure to keep a close eye on any news from the palaeontologic world. I hope you will, too.
