The discovery of a new species of dinosaurs has scientists excited about the possibility of answers to the ancient world.
"This is a brand new and extremely important window into the world of dinosaurs," said Scott Sampson, a paleontologist from the University of Utah.
Fossil remains of an unknown dinosaur species were found by a group of high school students and volunteers in Southern Utah at Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 2002. The students found a large skull that was described as looking like a duck-billed snout. This fossil was airlifted by helicopter from the discovery site and taken to the Utah Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah for further evaluation.
Although the fossil was discovered five years ago, it has recently been identified.
Sampson, who also serves as curator of the Utah Museum of Natural History, has spent more than eight months studying the origin of the fossil. Sampson along with his colleague Terry Gates concluded that this fossil came from a new species of hadrosaur, also known as the duck-billed dinosaur.
Sampson emphasized the massively built skull and skeleton by referring to the animal as the "Arnold Schwarzenegger of duck-billed dinosaurs."
The dinosaur is thought to have been at least 30 feet long and 10 feet tall with a large jaw containing more than 800 teeth. The species was given the scientific name Gryposaurus monumentensis.
"One of the biggest impacts of this discovery is that it sets up a research plan for us to be able to go out and test," Gates said.
The skull was discovered in sediments dating back more than 75 million years. Previous duck-billed dinosaurs have been known to be herbivores feasting on anything they could get their teeth on, Gates said.
Questions still remain as to the origin of this dinosaur. Scientists hope to uncover answers to these questions through further research.
Copyright Brigham Young University 30 Oct 2007
