Dinosaur fossils deemed a new species of theropod were recently discovered in China. The rare find features a complete hand and some parts of its ribs and limbs.
New Dinosaur Species Discovered in China
A study team from China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has found new remains from a small-bodied theropod dinosaur in the Pigeon Hill site of the Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner, including a hand, ribs, and a portion of a limb, IFLScience reported.
The fossil is estimated to be from the Early Cretaceous period and about 121 million years old. The team has called this species Migmanychion laiyang because they believe it to be a brand-new species due to its peculiar hand features.
The current theory puts the fossil in the coelurosaurian group Maniraptora, which later developed into the progenitors of modern birds.
Given that this new species' hands differ from all other theropod species, it is unclear how it fits in with the other known theropod species. The general size and the ossified carpometacarpus clearly distinguish this specimen from other avian fossils discovered nearby.
Therizinosaurs and oviraptorosaurs were known for their feathers and resemblances to birds but did share certain structural similarities with the newly discovered theropod, as shown by previously discovered fossils.
The peculiar features of the new fossil are similar to those of the Fukuivenator paradoxus fossil, which was also found in Japan. The researchers emphasize that this preliminary classification is uncertain and intend to continue searching for further fossils to learn more about how the new species fit into the dinosaur family.
The study was published in Cretaceous Research.
More About the Migmanychion laiyang Dinosaur Had Strange Hand.
The new dinosaur is considered a new species with strange hand features, per Phys.org. It is a member of Maniraptora, from the group of coelurosaurian dinosaurs, some of which evolved to become modern birds.
The group, which belongs to a larger clade that includes Tyrannosaurus rex and allosaurus, is thought to have initially emerged during the Jurassic. The majority have long arms and hands with three fingers and a wrist bone with a distinctive moon shape. The only group of dinosaurs that includes flying species is the maniraptorans.
Only one hand, a few ribs, and a left forelimb remain from the fossil, making it incomplete. But it also identifies a previously undiscovered species of theropod with distinct hand anatomy from all other known theropods.
They assert that the therizinosaurs, whose most renowned member is the enormous pot-bellied Therizinosaurus, and oviraptorosaurs share certain structural similarities. Notably, oviraptors are distinguished by their omnivorous diet, feathers, and bird-like skulls.
Meanwhile, therizinosaurs had enormous claws shaped like giant scythes. They appeared 120 million years ago, and their remains have been found in Asia and North America, according to the Western Australian Museum.
Their strange features made it difficult for scientists to determine which dinosaur family they belonged to. They were later considered maniraptorans, a group from the theropod dinosaurs. All group members rocked long arms equipped with the largest claws in the animal kingdom.
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