The unusual fossil was found in Brazil and is the first of its kind from South America to show evidence of feathers. The study authors think the elaborate plumage would have been used to show it and implied that the dinosaur had sophisticated mating behavior.
“If confirmed, this finding will be a significant discovery for two reasons: the first feathered dinosaur from the southern continents and a strange visual structure in a dinosaur of a relatively early lineage,” said Xu Xing, a paleontologist at the Institute. of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, said via email.
“Similar structures had previously been reported of some very bird-like dinosaurs, but in these cases, ribbon-like structures adhere to the tail, which is normal, but in this new finding they join the shoulder is unusual, ”added Xu, who did not participate in the investigation. He discovered some of the first feathered dinosaur fossils in China.
The animal is said to have lived about 110 million years ago.
Some current birds have “decorated shoulders,” including the standard-winged male bird of paradise, but they are rare, said David Martill, a professor at the University of Portsmouth in the UK and author of the paper.
“We can’t prove that the specimen is a male, but given the disparity between males and females, it seems likely that the specimen was a male and young, which is surprising given that more complex visualization capabilities are reserved for adult males. mature, “he said.
“Given its extravagance, we can imagine that the dinosaur may have been dedicated to crafting dances to show off its visual structures.”
The study was published Monday in the journal Cretaceous Research.
Paleontologists now believe that many dinosaurs had feathers, or feather-like structures, but most fossil evidence so far comes from China and Germany.
The fossil was discovered in the Crato Formation in northeastern Brazil by quarry workers who exploited limestone to pave slabs and was exceptionally well preserved.
It shows a section of long, thick mane that runs down the animal’s back. His arms were also covered with skin-like filaments up to his hands. The mane is believed to have been controlled by muscles that allowed it to be lifted, similarly a dog lifts the discomfort or a porcupine raises the spines when they are threatened, the authors reported in a press release.
The dinosaur was named Ubirajara jubatus after a Tupi language name meaning “lord of the spear” and Latin jubatus meaning maned or crested.
Some Brazilian paleontologists have opposed the unusual fossil that was taken out of Brazil for study. Taissa Rodrigues Marques da Silva, a professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santo in Brazil, told CNN by email that “the document is controversial because the Brazilian Constitution recognizes fossils as cultural heritage.”
The newspaper said the fossil is part of the collection of the Karlsruhe State Museum of Natural History in Germany and that its export was authorized in 1995.