Moabosaurus: New Species Of Herbivorous Dinosaurs Discovered

A new species of herbivorous dinosaurs has been discovered by palaeontologists. The newly discovered Moabosaurus that lived 125 million years ago belonged to the sauropods group of herbivores. Sauropods included giant dinosaurs with long necks and pillar-like legs such as Brachiosaurus and Brontosaurus.

The bones of the Moabosaurus were assembled using bones excavated over the past 40 years from a quarry near Arches National Park in Utah. The scientists feel that they are lucky to get anything out of the site because most of the bones that they have found were fragmentary. Only a small percentage of the bones were usable. “And that is why it took so long to get this animal put together,” researcher Brooks Britt from Utah’s Brigham Young University said in a statement. “We had to collect huge numbers of bones in order to get enough that were complete.”

According to a Zee News report, the Moabosaurus lived in the region during a period when Utah had lakes, streams and large trees. A previous study has suggested that a large number of dinosaurs, including the Moabosaurus, perished in a severe drought. The surviving dinosaurs trampled over the dead bodies and crushed their bones. The bones were transported a short distance after streams eroded the land, when the drought ended.

The newly discovered species of dinosaur is being said to be closely related to ones found in Tanzania and Spain. Researchers have implied that during that time period, there were still fragmentary physical connections between North America, Africa and Europe.

Incidentally, the Moabosaurus has been named in honor of the city of Moab in Utah because paleontologists feel that the area is a gold mine for dinosaur bones. In addition, the team of researchers has said that the state and the city were very supportive of the excavation efforts that have spanned over four decades.