Name: New Species of Burrowing Dinosaur May Have Died During 'Cretaceous Pompeii'
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New Species of Burrowing Dinosaur May Have Died During 'Cretaceous Pompeii'

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Paleontologists have unearthed a new species of burrowing dinosaur that once walked on two legs some 125 million years ago in modern-day China, reports Jon Haworth for . A new paper describing the species, published this month in the journal , argues it is the most primitive —the family of dinosaurs that includes bipedal “duck-billed” species such as Iguanodon—ever found.Found in northeastern China’s Liaoning Province, researchers named the dinosaur Changmiania liaoningensis after the serene postures of the two almost perfectly preserved skeletons that underpin the discovery—changmian means “eternal sleep” in Chinese. The digging dino’s near-immaculate fossilization may have been the result of an unpleasant demise. Some researchers suggest a volcanic eruption likely trapped the nearly four-foot-long Changmiania underground where it may have suffocated or starved to death."These animals were quickly covered by fine sediment while they were still alive or just after their death," says Pascal Godefroit, a palaeontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and co-author of the research, in a .Such pristine, three-dimensional fossilization is typical of northeastern China’s Yixian Formation, specifically the Lujiatun Beds, where the specimens were found. The hypothesis that volcanism is responsible for the site’s spectacular fossils has caused some to refer to it as the “” or the “Cretaceous Pompeii.”Changmiania was herbivorous and would have been a fast, upright runner, despite the other aspects of its physiology that suggested the dinosaur was a proficient digger, reports Lauren Johnson for .“Certain characteristics of the skeleton suggest that Changmiania could dig burrows, much like rabbits do today," says Godefroit in the statement. "Its neck and forearms are very short but robust, its shoulder blades are characteristic of burrowing vertebrates and the top of its snout is shaped like a shovel."According to the statement, Godefroit thinks both specimens succumbed to the sudden volcanic event while “resting at the bottom of their burrows 125 million years ago.”Recommended VideosPost a CommentMost Popular

Paleontologists have unearthed a new species of burrowing dinosaur that once walked on two legs some 125 million years ago in modern-day China, reports Jon Haworth for . A new paper describing the species, published this month in the journal , argues it is the most primitive —the family of dinosaurs that includes bipedal “duck-billed” species such as Iguanodon—ever found.Found in northeastern China’s Liaoning Province, researchers named the dinosaur Changmiania liaoningensis after the serene postures of the two almost perfectly preserved skeletons that underpin the discovery—changmian means...

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New Species of Burrowing Dinosaur May Have Died During 'Cretaceous Pompeii'

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