Scientists discovered a new type of dinosaur with a “eye -catching sail ına that could be used to attract wives along his back and tail.
The new Iguanodontian dinosaur on its fossils Wight is defined by a PhD student at the University of Portsmouth and Jeremy Lockwood, the University of Natural History.
Retired GP, the island on the southern coast of England, and in 2005, the fastest solo uninterrupted journey around the world famous for breaking the world record of the sailor Dame Ellen Macarthur’dan decided to name the species.
Dinosaur, the first word, which means “sailing spine ve and the second, referring to the surname of Dame Ellen, was called Istorachis Hungarianuthurae.
Before Dr Lockwood’s analysis, fossils dating back to 125 million years belong to one of the two -iguanodontian dinosaur species known from Wight Island.
He said: “Skeleton, although not as complete as others found, nobody really looked at these bones before
“One of the existing species was thought to have another example, but this was especially unusual long nerve thorns.”
Dr Lockwood announced that the animal will probably have a significant sail -like structure on his back in his study published at Scientific Journal Papers in Paleontology.
He said: “Evolution sometimes seems to be exaggerated in practice. Although the exact purpose of such features has been discussed for a long time – from body temperature regulation to fat storage – researchers believe that the most likely explanation is probably a visual signal as part of the sexual screen, and this is usually caused by sexual choice.
“In modern reptiles, sailing structures often emerge more pronounced in men, which suggests that these qualities develop to influence their wives or scare competitors. We think that Istorachis may have done the same thing.”
For the study, the researchers compared fossilized bones with a database of similar dinosaur rear bones, which allowed them to see how these sail -like formations develop.
Dr Lockwood said: “We have shown that Istorachis’s thorns are not only long-Liguanodon-like dinosaurs that they are more exaggerated than normal, which is a feature that you expect to develop through sexual choice.”
Professor Susannah Maidment of the Nature History Museum said: “The careful work of the fossils found in Jeremy’s museum collections for several years has implemented the Dinosaurs of Wight Island.
“It emphasizes the importance of collections such as Dinozaur Isle, which can be examined and reviewed in the light of new data and new ideas about new data and evolution.
“In the last five years, Jeremy has increased the known diversity of smaller Iguanodontics on Wight Island alone, and Istorachis shows that we still have a lot to learn about the early cretaceous ecosystems in the UK.”
