Beijing, August 16 (CNBC) -- According to the Voice of China News Hyperlink of the Central Radio and Television Corporation, Science Report, an academic journal owned by Nature, recently published its latest research results on dinosaur fossils in the Xinjiang Early Cretaceous Pterosaur fauna.
Researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have established two new dinosaur genera and species through the study of three dinosaur fossils: the Chinese Silk Road Dragon and the Xinjiang Hami Dragon. This is the first report of non-pterosaur vertebrates in the Hami pterosaur fauna. The discovery of two new species of dinosaurs provides new information about the evolution of this dinosaur taxon.
What was it like in prehistoric times? What did this giant dinosaur look like? What happened to the dinosaurs here and why did they die? Which of the creatures we see today could be descendants of dinosaurs?
What was it like? What did this giant dinosaur look like?
By comparing the morphology of the 6-section cervical vertebrae and the 7-segment associated tail vertebrae, the researchers analyzed that they all belonged to the new species of large sauropods. Because of its large size, the researchers classified it as a giant dragon in the sauropod class, and named it the Chinese Silk Road Dragon and the Xinjiang Hami Dragon respectively.
China's Silk Road Dragon (silutitan sinensis gen. et sp. nov.) Regular specimen (courtesy of respondent team)
Xinjiang Hami dragon (hamititan xinjiangensis gen. et sp. nov.) Regular specimen (courtesy of respondent team)
Wang Xiaolin, the first author of the paper and a researcher at the Institute of Paleovertebrates of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, described that both dinosaurs had the characteristics of sauropods: long necks, long tails, and longer forelimbs than hindlimbs. According to conservative estimates, the length of the Xinjiang Hami dragon is about 17 meters, and the Chinese Silk Road dragon is close to 30 meters, and they live together in the Early Cretaceous period, which dates from about 130 million to 120 million years ago.
Ecological restoration map of the Chinese Silk Road Dragon (left) and Xinjiang Hami Dragon (right) and Hami Pterodactyl fauna (Creation/Zhao Chuang, Scientific Guidance/Wang Xiaolin) (Courtesy of the interviewee team)
This is the first non-pterosaur vertebrate found in Hami, before that, the Hami scientific expedition team of the Institute of Paleovertebrates of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been conducting scientific research in the Hami Gobi for more than ten consecutive years, and the only fauna found is the pterosaur fauna. The discovery not only enriched the diversity of dinosaurs, but also expanded the distribution of dragons in Asia.
It turned out that this was not only the home of pterosaurs, but also the habitat of various types of dinosaurs. Wang Xiaolin said that one of them flew in the sky and ate fish for a living; the other walked on the ground, made a living from vegetarianism, had no competitive relationship, and had been coexisting peacefully. It is speculated that there was a lake of tens of thousands of square kilometers at that time, and there were a large number of fish in the lake to support the life of the pterosaur; the land plants flourished, the trees were shady, the climate was warm and humid, and of course there were some carnivorous theropod dinosaurs, which together formed a good ecosystem.
Three dinosaur fossil bones preserved (maurilio oliveira painting) Red (cervical vertebrae): Chinese Silk Road Dragon; Yellow (tail vertebrae): Xinjiang Hami Dragon; Green (Recommended Vertebrae): Unnamed Fossils (Courtesy of the Interviewee Team)
What happened to the dinosaurs here, and why did they die?
Between the Mesozoic Cretaceous and Cenozoic Paleogene, 65 million years ago, there was a mass extinction event, the mass extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. In fact, this is actually the 5th mass extinction in Earth's history, and this extinction event completely destroyed non-avian dinosaurs.
The currently accepted view is that after a comet or asteroid hit the earth, the earth produced a series of mutations, the living environment of dinosaurs also changed, volcanic eruptions, global forest fires and other disasters led to their extinction. It is also said that after the impact, a large amount of dust drifted out of the sun, reducing the global temperature, no different from winter. It is also believed that changes in temperature caused an imbalance in the sex ratio of dinosaur eggs hatching, eventually leading to extinction.
But the demise of hamiosaurs has nothing to do with the dinosaur mass extinction we know as it is. Wang Xiaolin explained that the demise of Hami dragons was earlier than the time of mass extinction, and they were more likely to encounter regional sudden disasters, resulting in cluster deaths.
But please don't be sad too soon!
There is a view that dinosaurs are not completely extinct, they may have flown in the sky. Looking up, the soaring birds, and even the chickens, ducks, and geese on the dinner table, may be descendants of dinosaurs.
Producer: Liang Yue
Reporter: Fu Zhao
Editors: Yang Yang, Pan Yuwei, Peng Yuji