Scientists have discovered a new dinosaur species in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert named Duonychus tsogtbaatari, with two foot-long clawed fingers on each hand. The dinosaur stood about 10 feet tall, weighed 570 pounds, and belonged to the therizinosaur group known for their unique traits like huge claws, leaf-shaped teeth, and feather covering. Duonychus lived during the Cretaceous Period in Asia and North America, primarily feeding on leaves.
The fossil was excavated in 2012 by researchers from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Paleontology and was a partial skeleton without a skull and legs. Despite its young age, Duonychus was an effective grasper able to handle thick vegetation. The discovery is significant as most dinosaurs had three fingers, making the two-clawed Duonychus unique and shedding light on the diversity of dinosaur shapes and functions.
Researchers believe that the third finger may have been a hindrance, leading to the evolution of dinosaurs with fewer fingers. Fossil records of therizinosauria are abundant in Cretaceous deposits in Asia, particularly in Mongolia and China. The Mongolian Gobi Desert is renowned as the world’s largest dinosaur fossil reservoir, with UNESCO recognizing it as such.
The study describing the discovery of Duonychus was published in the journal iScience, showcasing the importance of ongoing research in uncovering new dinosaur species and understanding their evolutionary history. Scientists continue to explore the Gobi Desert and other regions to expand our knowledge of prehistoric life and the diverse forms it took millions of years ago.
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