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Palaeontology

New dinosaur species had a heart-shaped tail

By T.K. Randall
February 14, 2019 · Comment icon 1 comment

Titanosaurs were the undisputed giants of the Cretaceous. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Nobu Tamura
Just in time for Valentine's Day, scientists have revealed a newly discovered dinosaur with a rather unique feature.
Discovered in a riverbed in the East African Rift system of Tanzania, the new species has been characterized by its unusual tail bones which are shaped rather like love hearts.

The dinosaur, which is a type of giant plant-eating titanosaur, has been named Mnyamawamtuka moyowamkia, which means "animal of the Mtuka with a heart-shaped tail" in Swahili.
Believed to date back 100 million years, it would have been a sight to behold during the Cretaceous.

"Titanosaurs dominated Cretaceous ecosystems all over the world at the end of the age of dinosaurs," said palaeontologist Kristina Curry Rogers of Macalester College, Minnesota.

"In spite of the fact that titanosaurs are being discovered at an astonishing pace and inhabited every continent on earth, the earliest phases of their take over are still pretty mysterious."



Source: Independent | Comments (1)




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