New dinosaur remains a ‘critical discovery for Egyptian and African palaeontology’
The discovery of the fossilised remains of a new species of dinosaur in the Sahara Desert has been described as a crucial "edge piece" of a largely unfinished palaeontological jigsaw depicting African dinosaurs.The remains of Mansoursaurus shahinae — a long-necked plant-eater about the size of a school bus‚ with bony plates in its skin — were unearthed in Egypt during a Mansoura University student expedition led by Hesham Sallam.Eric Gorscak‚ a contributor to the study — published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution — said it was a "critical discovery for Egyptian and African palaeontology"."Africa remains a giant question mark in terms of land-dwelling animals at the end of the age of dinosaurs‚" he said. "Mansourasaurus helps us address long-standing questions about Africa’s fossil record and palaeobiology — what animals were living there‚ and to what other species were these animals most closely related?"Study co-author Matt Lamanna‚ of Carnegie Museum of Natural History ...
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