72 Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Tail Unearthed in Nearly Perfect Condition
A dinosaur tail that's 72 million years old was discovered in a desert in Northern Mexico, according to the country's National Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH). The 16-foot tail, which has 50 vertebrae, is believed to have belonged to a duck-billed dinosaur known as hadrosaur.
By Sadho Ram — 24 Jul 2013, 08:10 PM — Updated about 11 years ago
PHOTO: Complete tail of 72-million-year-old dinosaur discovered in Mexican desert
A fossilized tail of a duck-billed dinosaur, or Hadrosaur, is seen in the Municipality of General Cepeda, Coahuila.
Image via dailymail.co.ukWATCH: One of the archaeologists speak about the Dinosaur remains found in Mexico
READ: All about the 'unusually well-preserved' dinosaur tail that happenes to be the first-ever found in Mexico
Palaeontologists have discovered the fossilised remains of a 72 million-year-old dinosaur tail in a desert in northern Mexico. Experts identified the creature as a hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur.
guardian.co.uk
The five-metre tail was the first ever found in Mexico and was unusually well-preserved, said the INAH's director Francisco Aguilar.
The tail, found near the small town of General Cepeda found in the border state of Coahuila, likely made up half the dinosaur's length, Aguilar said.
dailymail.co.ukArchaeologists found the 50 vertebrae of the tail completely intact after spending 20 days in the desert slowly lifting a sedimentary rock covering the creature's bones. Strewn around the tail were other fossilised bones, including one of the dinosaur's hips, INAH said.
The new discovery could further understanding of the hadrosaur family and aid research on diseases that afflicted dinosaur bones, which resembled those of humans, Aguilar said. Scientists have already determined that dinosaurs suffered from tumors and arthritis, for example.
dailymail.co.ukIn a statement released on Monday, INAH said they would not be able to confirm the species until more bones are recovered. Still, from the evidence they found, paleontologists were able to analyze the dinosaur’s environment and believe it died of natural causes, Aguilar said in a statement.
GALLERY: 72 million-year-old dinosaur tail
Despite Mexico's rich heritage in paleontology, this is the first dinosaur tail found in the country
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Speaker for the dead: The tail, from a hadrosaur, will enable experts to learn about bone conditions that affected the colossal beasts
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The 'unusually well-preserved' five yard-long tail was the first ever found in Mexico. It is 72 million years old
Image via dailymail.co.ukAbout Hadrosaurs or Duck-billed dinosaurs
The hadrosaurs are known as the duck-billed dinosaurs due to the similarity of their head to that of modern ducks.
dailymail.co.ukHadrosaurs, which is Greek for “bulky lizard,” are defined by their flattened snouts. They were herbivores that had nearly 900 teeth in their mouths. Their fossilized remains have been found in North America, Europe and Asia.
PHOTO: An artist rendering provided by the National Geographic Society shows what a hadrosaur is believed to have looked like
An artist rendering provided by the National Geographic Society shows what a hadrosaur is believed to have looked like
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