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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: New Dinosaur Found; Shows How Giants Got That Way


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A newfound, 20-foot-long (7-meter-long) sauropod ancestor, Aardonyx celestae (top, an artist's illustration) had a surprising amount of sauropod-like features, scientists said in November 2009. The largest animals ever to have walked the Earth, sauropods were long-necked, big-bellied plant-eaters.

The new dinosaur had a robust skeleton (middle) that allowed it to sometimes walk on all fours, as sauropods did, and its jaws (bottom) gaped widely to allow it to take in more food, the study says.

Top illustration courtesy Matthew Bonnan, middle and bottom illustrations courtesy Adam Yates