Latest duck-billed dinosaur fossils discovered by scientists prove that some species thrived in the cold (Photo : REUTERS/INAH/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
A new species of dinosaur said to be about 30 feet in length, with a frontal duck-billed nose has been discovered in Northern Alaska and supports growing evidence that dinosaurs were capable of surving in cold climates.
The species believed to be a plant eater belongs to the hadrosaur family where members travelled in herds, according to researchers who have uncovered recent fossils, the Daily Mail reported.
Curator at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks, Pat Druckenmille said the recent finding have revealed theories that it may have been possible that Northern Alaska had a warmer climate, covered in greenery. However, this particular species researchers feel, may have even experienced snow and lived in darkness for months at a time.
The fossils of the latest dinosaur have been discovered in rock deposits that date back 69 milllion years. The dinosaur fossils had been clumped together at the Colville River in Northern Alaska for more than 20 years, with another species known as an Edmontosaurus. However, a closer study has revealed that the fossils are in fact of a unique species.
An in-depth examination by the research team has indicated that the differences in the mouth and the skull structures were the key in determining that the find has been a new species.Druckenmiller told the publication the uniqueness was not immediately noticed as the dinosaurs in Alaska had been juveniles.
Professor of Biological Science at the Florida State University, Greg Erickson told CBS News the find of a dinosaur species as far as Northern Alaska has challenged everything researchers thought they knew about the physiology of dinosaurs.
Prof. Erickson said the latest fossil findings have piqued the curiosity of scientists as to how these dinosaurs survived. The species has been identified as Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis, which means "ancient grazer of the Colville River." The findings have been documented in the paleontology journal, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
Researchers say the "ancient grazer" adds to growing evidence that dinosaurs were capable of surviving in colder climates for as far back as 100 million years ago.
