4 days ago
New dinosaur species identified from skeleton found in Colorado, researchers say
A new species of dinosaur has been identified from a partial skeleton discovered in Colorado, researchers said.
The Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae was a small ornithischian dinosaur that walked on two legs, according to a study published June 25 in the peer-reviewed journal Royal Society Open Science.
The skeleton was uncovered in 2021-22 in Moffat County, Colorado, and included some teeth and bones, researchers said.
It was in a unit of rock known as the Morrison Formation.
The skeleton was found by the company Dinosaurs of America LLC and eventually acquired by the National History Museum in London, where it's being displayed, researchers said.
The museum described the new-to-science species as a herbivore and 'a speedy runner.'
'Wind the clock back 145 to 150 million years, and' the creature 'would have been darting around the floodplains of the western United States in the shadows of giants' such as the Stegosaurus and Diplodocus, the museum said in a June 25 news release.
The specimen is about 1 meter — or a little more than 3 feet — in length, per the release, although the creature might not have reached adulthood when it died.
Susannah C. R. Maidment and Paul M. Barrett, both paleontologists for the museum, are co-authors of the study.
The dinosaur's name comes in part from the Latin word for 'runner,' plus the word 'enigma,' in a nod 'to the convoluted taxonomic history of' small ornithischian dinosaurs from that area, according to researchers.
Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae's name also acknowledges donor Molly Borthwick, who helped the museum acquire the skeleton, researchers said.
'The generous donation of this rare specimen has had quite unexpected scientific repercussions,' Maidment said, per the museum news release. 'By studying its anatomy in detail, we've been able to clarify this species' evolutionary relationships, its taxonomy and the diversity of a previously poorly understood group of small dinosaurs.'
Barrett described unveiling the new species at the museum while 'also placing it reliably onto the evolutionary tree' as 'an incredibly exciting milestone,' per the release.
Moffat County is in northwestern Colorado.
