Paleontologist Discovers Bizarre New Dinosaur Species

by UInterviewOctober 3, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

Scientists have discovered a bizarre new species of dinosaurs that are thought to have roamed the planet over 200 million years ago — the Pegomastax africanus or "thick jaw from Africa." But this is not your average T-rex or looming Apatosaurus; these are the smallest dinosaurs that are known to have existed, weighing less than a small house cat and, at two feet's length, barely able to nip at one's heels. “My eyes popped, as it was clear this was a distinct species," Paul Sereno, a paleontologist from the University of Chicago, told The New York Times of discovering the fossil. "I’m embarrassed to say how many years ago that was — 1983. But I was an enterprising graduate student then at the American Museum of Natural History. All the while since then, I wondered if anyone else might spot the creature hiding among the lab drawers."

Now that Sereno has had time to devote himself to the research of this hitherto unknown species, it's clear there's plenty to learn. Among these dwarf herbivores' most curious anatomical features are a parrot-shaped beak and stabbing canines. “[It is] very rare that a plant-eater like Pegomastax would sport sharp-edged enlarged canines," Sereno explained, suggesting that these dinosaurs may either have eaten small amounts of meat or simply used the canines as protection, “for nipping and defending themselves, not for eating meat.” Sereno also revealed that the Pegomastax was covered in quills, so it resembled something like a “nimble two-legged porcupine.”

The original fossils of these miniature dinosaurs, known as heterodontosaurus or "different toothed reptiles," have been found in a wide area ranging from England to China. Sereno's batch comes from South Africa, where scientists collected samples in a slab of red rock in the 1960s. Despite years of experience under his belt, Sereno admits to stumbling across some evolutionary surprises while researching the fascinating species, whose "anatomy is key to understanding the early evolution of this great group of plant eaters.” Sereno revealed his findings this week in an issue of ZooKeys, an online journal.

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Check out this timelapse reconstruction of a heterodontosaurus head: