paleontologists have described a fossilized jaw with one preserved tooth, which had been previously unknown to science species of lizard presumably belongs to the family dromaeosauridae.
As reported Phys.org, fossil jaw bone was discovered in the North of Alaska, in the formation Prince Creek. The region abounds in fossils of dinosaurs. However, again found a small fragment of the jaw is an extremely rare discovery. For more information about him can be found in the journal PLOS ONE.
the Analysis showed that the jaw belonged to a young individual. It was probably representative of the family dromaeosauridae (Dromaeosaurids), a group of predatory dinosaurs, closely related birds. The most famous representatives of this family are the VelociRaptor and dromeozavr.
These dinosaurs lived around the world. However, their bones were so thin that they are rarely preserved in the fossil record. This complicates attempts to understand the ways of their settlement on the planet. Even dromaeosaurids difficult to identify because they remain, as a rule, only the teeth.
in this case preserved only a fragment of a lower jaw length of 14 mm with a single tooth. The age of discovery is around 70 million years. This is the first known fossilized dromaeosaurid found in the Arctic.
the Analysis showed that this bone belongs to a close relative of the North American small predatory dinosaurs of the species Saurornitholestes. However, it was some other kind. It is believed that North American’s dromaeosaurid have their origin from Asia. Alaska could be a key region for their settlement.
the New fossil may help to know what types dromaeosaurids inhabited this important from the point of view of paleontology of the region. In addition, until now it was thought that Alaska was predatory dinosaurs a kind of corridor of migration. Scientists have suggested that lizards got back from Asia and transit went to the South.
However, this dromaeosaurid was a baby. This indicates that some dinosaurs lived and bred in the Arctic. The authors suggest that future research results will provide a more complete understanding of these enigmatic Arctic dromaeosaurids.
“There are places where dinosaur fossils are so common that a small piece of bone can’t add anything to the previous scientific studies, but this is not an Alaskan model, says study co-author Alessandro Chiarenza from Imperial College in London. Even with such an incomplete jaw fragment, our team was able to figure out the evolutionary relationships of this dinosaur, as well as to obtain information on the biology of these animals. Ultimately, it will help us to obtain more detailed data about the ancient Arctic ecosystem”.
By the way, the remains of dinosaurs�� in the far North was first discovered only a few years ago. The discovery immediately turned the idea about ancient dinosaurs. Since then, the debate about whether the Arctic transit route for migration or permanent habitat of the dinosaurs. The new discovery gives a strong argument in favour of the second of these theories.
