In Egypt, it is common to discover pyramids, mummies and other ancient artifacts, but not dinosaur.
Moreover, all of Africa is generally considered a “blank page” for the creatures that once dominated the Earth, therefore, the evolution of the dinosaurs on the “black” continent remains largely a mystery.
For once, however, Egyptian and American scientists have discovered the fossils of a new species of dinosaur in the Egyptian part of the Sahara desert. It is a large herbivorous dinosaur called Mansourasaurus shahinae, having the length of a modern bus, a long neck and bone plates embedded in the surface of its skin.
The researchers, headed by paleontologist Hessam Salam of the Department of Geology at the Egyptian University of Mansoura (hence the name of the dinosaur), made the relevant publication in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Dr. Eric Gorsack, investigator of the US Department of the Earth’s Museum, who participated in the mission, said it was “a major breakthrough for Egyptian and African paleontology in general. Africa remains a giant question mark regarding the animals that lived at the end of the dinosaur era “, that is, in the Late Cretaceous period.
Analyzing Mansoursaur, scientists have concluded that it has greater similarities with dinosaurs from Europe and Asia than from South Africa and South America. This suggests that at least a few dinosaurs could at that time – between 100 and 66 million years ago – migrate between Europe and Africa.
Mansourosaur belongs to the larger group of the Titanosaurus, which were long-term herbivorous dinosaurs. The same family is home to the largest known animals that have ever walked on Earth, such as Argentina and Patagonian.
Compared to Titanosaurus, Mansourosaurus was of medium size, having about the weight of a great African elephant. His skeleton is the best-preserved finding of the dinosaur era that has ever been discovered in Africa, as parts of his skull, lower jaw, neck, ribs, a large part of the shoulders and fore ends have been located, along with a portion of its hind foot.
“When I saw the fossils for the first time, my jaw dropped to the floor. This was really the “Holy Grail,” a well-preserved dinosaur from the late dinosaur era in Africa, which we paleontologists have been seeking for a long time, “said paleontologist Dr. Matt Lamana of the US Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
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