On Thursday, May 13th, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced that a new species of dinosaur has been identified from remains found in Mexico. The new species has been named Tlatolophus galorum, which is derived from the Indigenous Mexican language, Nahuatl, using the term “word,” and Greek with the term, “crest.” “Galorum” refers to the scientists that had a part in the research. The specimen is said to have died around 72 million years ago in what is now Coahuila, Mexico. Paleontologists believe that these dinosaurs, which are said to have been herbivores, were peaceful and very talkative. According to phys.org, paleobiologist Angel Alejandro Ramirez stated, “We believe that these dinosaurs were very communicative. They even produced and perceived low-frequency sounds like those made by elephants, which travel several kilometers and are imperceptible to humans.”
Paleontologists had found remains of the dinosaur almost a decade ago. Their first discovery was the tail, and later on, they uncovered most of the skull, which included a 4.3 foot hollow crest. Paleontologists were able to figure out that the skull was of a crested dinosaur by comparing it to other crested dinosaurs. They found other bones such as it’s scapula and femur as well. Paleontologists are in the process of determining the size of the dinosaur. Phys.org stated that Ramirez said, “We are calculating the size, which could be between eight meters and 12 meters long because just the tail is around six meters.”
According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History, these dinosaurs may have had the ability to emit loud sounds to scare predators away. Paleontologists also think that these dinosaurs’ crests may have been red. Ramirez stated, “We believe that these dinosaurs, like modern birds, saw in color and so these structures like the crest were possibly brightly colored. They could have been completely red, or multi-colored, with spots.” The discovery is still being investigated, but research about the dinosaur has been published in the scientific journal, Cretaceous Research.
Sources:
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-mexican-paleontologists-dinosaur-species.html
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/new-species-crested-dinosaur-identified-mexico-2021-05-14/
https://www.dw.com/en/talkative-dinosaur-species-found-in-mexico/a-57524507
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