New dinosaur from New Mexico has relatives in Alberta

[Judi Lynn]

New dinosaur from New Mexico has relatives in Alberta
24-Sep-2014

(Edmonton) A newly discovered armoured dinosaur from New Mexico has close ties to the dinosaurs of Alberta, say University of Alberta paleontologists involved in the research.

From 76 to 66 million years ago, Alberta was home to at least five species of ankylosaurid dinosaurs, the group that includes club-tailed giants like Ankylosaurus. But fewer ankylosaurids are known from the southern parts of North America. The new species, Ziapelta sanjuanensis, was discovered in 2011 in the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness area of New Mexico by a team from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

The U of A researchers in the Faculty of Science, including recent PhD graduate Victoria Arbour and current doctoral student Michael Burns, were asked to be part of the project because of their expertise in the diversity of ankylosaurs from Alberta.

"Bob Sullivan, who discovered the specimen, showed us pictures, and we were really excited by both its familiarity and its distinctiveness—we were pretty sure right away we were dealing with a new species that was closely related to the ankylosaurs we find in Alberta," says Arbour.

Ziapelta is described in a new paper in PLOS ONE. It stands out from other ankylosaurs because of unusually tall spikes on the cervical half ring, a structure like a yoke of bone sitting over the neck. Ziapelta's skull also differentiates it from other known ankylosaurs.


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Caption: This is a life restoration of Ziapelta sanjuanensis, a new species of ankylosaurid dinosaurs that was discovered in New Mexico.

Credit: Sydney Mohr

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More:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/uoa-ndf092414.php

[Louisiana1976]

1. Fascinating post. K&R

[Judi Lynn]

2. New armored dinosaur species unearthed in New Mexico

New armored dinosaur species unearthed in New Mexico

"It’s a rare thing to actually find a new species," said Robert M. Sullivan.

By Brooks Hays

SANTA FE, N.M., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- As they seem to do every week, scientists unveiled yet another new type of dinosaur on Wednesday -- this one discovered in 2011 by a joint team of diggers from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

The new dino is called Ziapelta sanjuanensis and it warranted the creation of a new genus of armored dinosaurs, or ankylosaurs. Other types of akylosaurs have been unearthed in the U.S., Canada and throughout Asia, but the fossils found in New Mexico showed Ziapelta to be distinct from any other previously discovered specimens -- differentiated by armored plates on the specimen's skull and uniquely shaped horns.

The team that discovered the new dinosaur was lead by paleontologist Robert M. Sullivan, and the details of the discovery were recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.

"It's a rare thing to actually find a new species," Sullivan told the Albuquerque Journal. "When we found the skull, we were impressed with how well it was preserved."

Sullivan said the dinosaur gets its name, Ziapelta sanjuanensis, from the Zia sun symbol featured on the state flag of New Mexico, the Latin word "pelta" meaning small shield, and San Juan County.

More:
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2014/09/25/New-armored-dinosaur-species-unearthed-in-New-Mexico/6851411679325/