Today, the Gobi Desert is one of the world's largest arid regions. But during the Cretaceous, the region was probably much wetter. This is shown by the discovery of a new dinosaur species whose physique was adapted for at least a semiaquatic life: Natovenator polydontus – the "swimming hunter with many teeth", as the name translates – resembled a modern penguin or loon rather than the tyrannosaurs with which it was related. Yuong-Nam Lee from Seoul National University and his team present the fossil of the animal in Communications Biology.
Due to this line of kinship, the dino does not belong to the bird relatives, which in turn suggests convergent evolution: the emergence of very similar body features and behaviors in different animal groups, as an adaptation to comparable ecological niches. The fossil was found by Natovenator polydontus as early as 2008 in the Gobi, which is known for its rich remains from the era of dinosaurs. And this fossilization was also remarkably well preserved: in addition to the skull, it included, among other things, the spine, one front leg and two hind legs.
During the reconstruction, Lee and Co saw that the animal had a slender, streamlined physique and a goose-like neck, which had never been detected before in a non-bird-like theropod. The orientation and shape of the ribs also show strong similarities with those of penguins and other waterfowl, which spend a lot of time diving and swimming in the water. The working group concludes that Natovenator polydontus also spent a lot of time in lakes, rivers or the sea.
He probably chased fish, crustaceans or insects there, which he could pack in the beak with the numerous needle -like teeth. When exactly the species existed in the chalk is unclear; The researchers date them to 100 to 66 million years ago. The closer relationship between the dinosaurs is a neck of the neck of Escuilliei, which was also excavated in the inner monogoly and is like a mixture of swan and velociraptor.
He is considered one of the first dinosaurs to have a similar lifestyle to waterfowl, but this has been questioned by some paleontologists. However, Natovenator polydontus reinforces the thesis.
