Posted on 04/04/2006 8:30:12 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SALT LAKE CITY - Fossils discovered in southern Utah are from a new species of birdlike dinosaur that resembled a 7-foot-tall brightly colored turkey and could run up to 25 mph, scientists said Tuesday.
Fossils of the meat-eater's hand-like claw and foot were found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument near the Arizona border, giving paleontologists reason to believe some dinosaurs known as raptors roamed from Canada to northern New Mexico about 75 million years ago.
Much smaller variations of the dinosaur had been found previously in Montana, South Dakota and the Canadian province of Alberta.
"This is the southernmost occurrence of this group, and it's about two times the size of the ones up north," said Lindsay Zanno, a doctoral student at the University of Utah who named the dinosaur Hagryphus giganteus, or giant four-footed, birdlike god of the Western desert.
The dinosaur had a strong toothless beak, powerful arms and formidable claws that made it capable of eating animals and plants. Large feathers grew on its hind end, giving it a resemblance to a turkey, Zanno said.
Scientists are not sure what purpose the feathers served, but it was not for flying. "It's quite different from modern birds," she said.
Mike Getty, collections manager at the university's Museum of Natural History, found the fossils in 2001. Scientists needed several years to excavate the fossils and publish their findings, he said.
The dinosaur was named in a paper published in December by the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. It was the first new dinosaur from the national monument to receive a name.
"This is the last great, unexplored dinosaur bone yard in the lower 48 states," said Scott Sampson, the museum's chief curator who wrote the journal article with Zanno.
Three other dinosaurs discovered at the monument are expected to be named soon, Sampson said, including a meat-eating tyrannosaur, a horned dinosaur and a duckbilled dinosaur with a 7-foot-long head.
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On the Net:
Utah Museum of Natural History: http://www.umnh.utah.edu
Isn't "new dinosaur" an oxymoron?
Anyone got the picture? < grin >
I haven't been able to find one yet. ;-)
I figured someone would have posted a man sized turkey costume by now, lol
Cool. The ptarmigan must evolved from it.
As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly...
How did they know that it had feathers?
It is quite possible our view of dinosaurs as a leathery clad lizard-type of creature may be a lot more shortsighted as it is possible that they ALL may been feathered creatures and the development into smaller, more efficient types may have resulted in their ability to survive the Chicxulub event in the Yucatan.
Bird have long been thought to be related to some hollow-boned dinosaurs, yet the explaination of the 'evolvement' of feathers has been dubious at best.
Recent fossil discoveries and probably future ones will show that some of the species were feathered in some form or fashion and the changes made the smaller, more efficient types more likely to survive because of the need for less food, area for development and the ability to adapt more easily to catastrophic change.
Just my two cents on all this.
Of course, a photo of Dean, Gore, Pilosi, etc, would also serve...
HAHAHA!
I have to say, that is a flattering shade of lipstick on the big turkey.
Got cranberries?
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