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Good news for dinosaur lovers. Recently, archeologists in Alaska found old salmon remains indicating that salmon fishing was practiced 11,500 years ago. Now, it seems that they have made a new discovery: a dinosaur’s remains.
The discovery was made in the Prince Creek Formation. After a detailed investigation of the bones, scientists believe that the dinosaur, on its scientific name Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis, is for about 69 million years old and it is thought to be a duck-billed dinosaur, feeding itself with plants.
The discovery bewildered the scientists, as the dinosaur seems to have been able to survive at extremely harsh temperatures and made them think that Alaska is an unexplored territory, still having a lot to offer.
Having discovered these remains, the scientists now want to discover how it was possible for the creatures to live at such low temperatures.
In the time period these dinosaurs lived, the temperatures went under 400, so it is hard to believe that a small dinosaur like this, having 30 feet length, could have managed to survive.
Mark Norell from the American museum of Natural History in New York states that, although other living dinosaurs from that time period, such as Caribou and Musk Oxen, were able to survive, it must be found out how this small creature could make it, especially during migrations.
In addition, the northern part of Alaska meant whole months of dark during the winter seasons, thing which raises another question about its adaptability.
“The finding of dinosaurs this far north challenges everything we thought about a dinosaur’s physiology,” states Greg Erickson, researcher at Florida State University.
As a means of locomotion, the dinosaur walked on two. Also, concerning the food, the dinosaur was an herbivore, eating plants with its almost 1,400 teeth.
More things are to be discovered about this species, taking into consideration the fact that 6,000 bones were unearthed until now and they still have to explore a newly discovered area of such duck-billed dinosaurs.
Image Source: Wikimedia
