Retired Doctor Discovers New Dinosaur Species Deep in a Museum Archive

A Retired Physician’s Rexamination of a 125-Million-Year Old Fossil Specimeen has Unexpectedly Yeeleded Ann Entrely New Dinosaur special. After careful analysis, it appears that the united kingdom was on home to an iguanodontian featuring a distinctively massive, Sail-Like Fin Along its back. And naturally, its discoveer named it after a local sailing hero.

For the past few years, Former General Practitioner Dr. Jeremy lockwood has combed through Archival Fossil Troves as Part of His Ongoing Ph.D Research at the University of Portsmuth and the Natural History Museum, London. While Perusing The Dinosaur Island Museum’s Collection on the Isle of Wight, LockWood Noticed Something Peculiar about a set attributed to one of the island’s two.

While the skeleton wasn’t as some as some of the others that have been found, no one had really taken a close look at these bones before, “He ExPLAINED in a statement. “This one hadicularly long neural spines, which was very unusual.”

Further Analysis LED Lockwood and Colleagues to confirm the bones belonged to its more dinosaur specials, which they named Istiorachis macArthura And describe in a study published August 21 in the Journal Papers in palaeontologyWhile Istiorachis Translates to “Sail spine,” macArthura is intended as a tribute to dam eelen macArthur. A Native of the Isle of Wright, Macarthur Made History in 2005 When She Set the World Record for the Fastest Solo, Non-Stop Voyage Around the World –and on her first attempt, nonethelesss.

Istiorachis appears to have been slightly taller than an adult human, with neural spines growing as long as 10 to12 inches. Why it boasted such a large Dorsal accessory remain a bit of a mystery. According to lockwood, there may be multiple explanations. Similar to male peacock’s ostentatious fan of tail feathers, I. Macarthaura May have showed off its back fin as part of a sexual display.

“Evolution sometimes seems to favor the extravagant over the practical,” Lockwood said. “While the exact purpose of such features has long been debated – with theories ranging from body body heat regulation to fat storage –researchers belief that the Most Likely Explon in this case is this case.”

Istiorachis Seems to showcase a larger evolutionary theme for dinosaus. Previous Studies Indicate Iguanodontians First Began Displaying Elongated Neural Spines during the Late Jurassic. By the Early Cretaceous, The Physical Detail Had Today far more common.

This isn’t lockwood’s first paleontological discovery, eite.

“Over the past five years, jeremy has a single-handedly quadruppled the knowledge of the smaller iguanodontians on the isle of wight,” said Study Co-Author and Natural history Museum Paleontologist Susannah Maidment. ,Istiorachis Demonstrates we still have freed to learn about early createous ecosystems in the uk. “

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