By Ian Randall
BYU Geologist Brooks Britt with one of the Abydosaurus skulls. Photo credit: Mark Philbrick
A new species of dinosaur, which has been named Abydosaurus mcintoshi, has been uncovered from a quarry in the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. Palaeontologists, from Brigham Young University, extracted four juvenile specimens from the surrounding Late Cretaceous sandstone of the Cedar Mountain Formation.
Artist Michael Skrepnick's depiction of Abydosaurus mcintoshi
Most unusual was the presence of four skulls, two of which were fully intact, among the remains – these will join the other eight, of the 120 known, sauropod species from which complete heads have been discovered. BYU palaeontologist, Brooks Britt, said: “Instead of thick bones fused together, sauropod skulls are made of thin bones bound together by soft tissue. Usually it falls apart quickly after death and disintegrates.” From these finds more information can be uncovered as to how such dinosaurs dined.
The new species was named after the ancient city Abydos, on the Nile, which was the final resting place of the Egyptian god Osiris’ head and neck – fitting, as the type specimen, also of a skull and neck, was discovered beside the Green River. Jack McIntosh, a palaeontologist who studied sauropods, is recognized by the specific name. It is thought that Abydosaurus is the younger relative of another long-necked herbivore, Brachiosaurus.