Энэтхэгийн баруун хэсгээс олдсон “Ceratocaudia antiqua” нэртэй жижиг биет үлэг гүрвэлийн олдвор нь аварга биет сауроподуудын дэлхий даяар тархсан цаг хугацааг дахин тодорхойлоход чухал нөлөө үзүүлж байна.
Энэтхэгийн Технологийн дээд сургуулийн (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay) судлаачид Гужарат мужийн Качч сав газрын Каладонгар тогтоцоос 181 ширхэг чулуужсан ясыг илрүүлжээ. Ойролцоогоор 7 метрийн урттай энэхүү үлэг гүрвэл нь Диплодок, Брахиозавр зэрэг аварга том амьтдыг багтаадаг “Neosauropoda” бүлгийн эртний төлөөлөгч юм. Олдворын нас нь эртний Юрийн галавын Плинсбах үеэс дунд Юрийн галавын Бажос үе хүртэлх хугацааг хамарч буй бөгөөд ойролцоогоор 190 сая жилийн настай гэж тооцоолж байна.
Филогенетик шинжилгээгээр уг олдвор нь “Macronaria” бүлгийн эртний гишүүн болохыг тогтоосон нь сауроподууд Бажос үеэс өмнө дэлхий даяар тархсан байсныг баталж байна. Энэхүү нээлт нь чулуужсан олдвор ховор байдаг эртний Юрийн галавын үеийн судалгаанд үнэтэй хувь нэмэр оруулж байгаа юм.
Судлаачид дижитал сэргээн засварлалт хийж үзэхэд, уг амьтан сүүлээ хэвтээ байрлалтайгаар хоёр тийш савлах чадвартай байсан нь тогтоогджээ. Энэ нь тухайн үлэг гүрвэлд махчин амьтдаас хамгаалах тодорхой хэмжээний зэвсэг болж байсан байх магадлалтай гэж үзэж байна. Уг судалгааны үр дүн “Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology” сэтгүүлд хэвлэгджээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A small dinosaur discovered in western India is changing the story of when some of the most successful sauropod groups began spreading around the world. The newly named Ceratocaudia antiqua was a much smaller relative of giant dinosaurs like Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus, yet it belonged to the same major lineage that would later produce some of Earth’s largest land animals.
The fossil was found in the Kachchh Basin in Gujarat, inside rocks from the Kaladongar Formation. Researchers estimate that this early neosauropod reached about 7 meters (23 feet) in length, making it a modest-sized member of a group better known for enormous long-necked giants.
The discovery offers a rare look at the early days of Neosauropoda, a dinosaur group that became highly diverse from the Late Jurassic onward. Scientists have struggled to understand the first stages of this lineage because fossils from the Early and Middle Jurassic are often incomplete and difficult to date precisely.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay said the early history of neosauropods has remained debated because of limited fossil discoveries, poor preservation and gaps in the geological record. The new Indian specimen adds another clue about how these dinosaurs evolved and spread across the planet.
A Rare Fossil Discovery in Gujarat
According to the research, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, The remains of Ceratocaudia antiqua were recovered from a single excavation site and include 181 fossil fragments. The collection contains vertebrae, ribs, forelimb bones and hind-limb elements, all thought to come from one individual.
The fossils are stored at the Vertebrate Palaeontology Lab of the Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, in Mumbai. The age of the rocks containing the bones is not perfectly defined, as they cover a period stretching from the Pliensbachian stage of the Early Jurassic to the Bajocian stage of the Middle Jurassic.
The researchers explained that this means the dinosaur could be around 190 million years old. The fossil adds valuable information to a period when very few early neosauropod remains have been found.
The discovery is particularly useful because early members of this group are rare in the fossil record. Each new specimen helps scientists better understand when these dinosaurs appeared and how quickly they expanded into different parts of the world.
A Small Dinosaur Linked to Future Giants
The research team used phylogenetic analysis to study where Ceratocaudia antiqua fits within the sauropod family tree. The results place it as an early member of Macronaria, a branch of Neosauropoda that later included many large-bodied dinosaurs.
The study authors noted that evidence from other fossils suggests neosauropods were already widely distributed during the Middle Jurassic. The Indian dinosaur supports the idea that these animals had reached a global range before the Bajocian stage.
The species was studied alongside two Chinese dinosaurs, Dashanpusaurus dongi and Yuzhoulong qurenensis. These discoveries together point to an early worldwide presence of neosauropods, even before the group became famous for its gigantic members.
The fossil from India represents one of the oldest clearly identified neosauropods discovered so far and gives researchers a better view of the early stages of a lineage that would later dominate many Jurassic and Cretaceous ecosystems.
A Reconstructed Tail Hints at a Defensive Tool
Scientists also looked at how Ceratocaudia antiqua may have used its tail. Using digital reconstruction, they created a model of the tail muscles by comparing the dinosaur with modern crocodilians and lizards. The results suggest that the sauropod carried its tail horizontally and could swing it from side to side.
“The hypothetical model ofCeratocaudia antiquasuggests that the sauropod tail may have been useful as a mild deterrent to predators even without specialized adaptations like the whip-tail of flagellicaudatans,” researchers explained.
The study shows that even early sauropods may have used their anatomy in different ways to survive in Jurassic environments.
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