Mystery as fossil of ostrich-like dinosaur found off coast of Canada

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleAn illustration of an Ornithomimus (Julius Csotonyi via University of Alberta)An 80-million-year-old dinosaur tail fossil discovered on Denman Island, British Columbia, provides the clearest evidence of ostrich-like dinosaurs on North America's Pacific coastline. The fossil, an isolated caudal vertebra, was identified as belonging to an indeterminate ornithomimosaur, a fast-running, bird-like theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous period. Researchers utilised CT scans to create a 3D model of the fossil, comparing it to complete ornithomimosaur and tyrannosaur skeletons to confirm its classification. Ornithomimosaurs, which lived between 145 and 66 million years ago, resembled modern-day ostriches with their small heads, slender bodies, toothless beaks, and long legs and necks. The precise manner in which the bone came to be deposited on the Canadian island remains unknown, with theories including a floating carcass, wave action, or transport by a scavenging dinosaur. In fullTail belonging to strange ostrich-like dinosaur discovered off coast of CanadaThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

Raccontata daindependent.co.uk