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BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) — Paleontologists on Aug. 11 heralded the discovery of a previously unknown small armored dinosaur in southern Argentina, a creature that likely walked upright on its back legs roaming a then-steamy landscape about 100 million years ago.
The Cretaceous period dinosaur, named Jakapil kaniukura, would have been well-protected with rows of bony disk-shaped armor along its neck and back and down to its tail, they said. It measured about 1.5 meters long and weighed only 4 kilograms to 7 kilograms, similar to an average house cat.
Its fossilized remains were dug up over the past decade near a dam in Patagonia in Rio Negro Province’s La Buitrera paleontological zone. The scientists described Jakapil in a study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The scientists said Jakapil marks a first-of-its-kind discovery of an armored dinosaur from the Cretaceous in South America. It is part of the thyreophoran dinosaur group that includes the likes of Stegosaurus, known for its bony back plates and spiky tail, and tank-like Ankylosaurus, covered in armor and wielding a club-like tail.
