New species of burrowing dinosaur found perfectly preserved in 'Cretaceous Pompeii'
Paleontologists in
China have discovered a brand new species of burrowing dinosaur that dates back an estimated 125 million years ago.
The newly found dinosaur species was discovered in the Lujiatun Beds, located in northeast China in the Liaoning Province, in the oldest layers of the famous Yixian Formation which has produced several hundred preserved dinosaur skeletons over the past 20 years.
The fossils of the
Changmiania liaoningensis were found perfectly intact and uninterrupted, suggesting to scientists that the
animals were trapped by a volcanic eruption while they rested at the bottom of their burrows.
“The Lujiatun Beds would have been a kind of Cretaceous 'Pompeii',” said the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in an article
announcing the discovery.
The newly described species is thought to be the most primitive ornithopod dinosaur to date.
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