Scientists unearth megaraptors, feathered dinosaur fossils in Chile's Patagonia - Reuters

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Scientists successful Chile's Patagonia portion are unearthing the southernmost dinosaur fossils recorded extracurricular Antarctica, including remains of megaraptors that would person dominated the area's nutrient concatenation earlier their wide extinction.

Fossils of megaraptors, a carnivorous dinosaur that inhabited parts of South America during the Cretaceous play immoderate 70 cardinal years ago, were recovered successful sizes up to 10 meters long, according to the Journal of South American Earth Sciences.

"We were missing a piece," Marcelo Leppe, manager of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), told Reuters. "We knew wherever determination were ample mammals, determination would besides beryllium ample carnivores, but we hadn't recovered them yet."

The remains, recovered from Chile's acold southbound Rio de las Chinas Valley successful the Magallanes Basin betwixt 2016 and 2020, besides see immoderate antithetic remains of unenlagia, velociraptor-like dinosaurs which apt lived covered successful feathers.

The specimens, according to University of Chile researcher Jared Amudeo, had immoderate characteristics not contiguous successful Argentine oregon Brazilian counterparts.

"It could beryllium a caller species, which is precise likely, oregon beryllium to different household of dinosaurs that are intimately related," helium said, adding much conclusive grounds is needed.

The studies besides shed much airy connected the conditions of the meteorite interaction connected Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that whitethorn person triggered the dinosaurs' extinction immoderate 65 cardinal years ago.

INACH's Leppe pointed to a crisp driblet successful temperatures implicit present-day Patagonia and waves of aggravated acold lasting up to respective 1000 years, successful opposition to the highly lukewarm clime that prevailed for overmuch of the Cretaceous period.

"The tremendous saltation we are seeing, the biologic diversity, was besides responding to precise almighty biology stimuli," Leppe said.

"This satellite was already successful situation earlier (the meteorite) and this is evidenced successful the rocks of the Rio de las Chinas Valley," helium said.

Reporting by Marion Giraldo; Writing by Sarah Morland, Editing by Alistair Bell

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