A new bird-like dinosaur species has been discovered with unusually large and “robust” clawed hands, shedding more light on early adaptations that led to the evolution of birds.
The dinosaur, named Shri rapax, belongs to the dinosaur group called dromaeosauridae, which includes small to medium-sized feathered carnivores considered the closest relatives of birds among dinosaurs.
Researchers found the new species based on a fossil dated between 75 and 72 million years ago, likely found in the 2000s in Mongolia.
However, scientists are unsure of the exact location from which the specimen was unearthed, as it was illegally poached before 2010, and later retained in private collections in Japan and England before being acquired by the French company Eldonia.
“Based on the documentation associated with the specimen, we tentatively refer it to Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia,” they wrote.
The specimen likely came from the Djadokhta Formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, known for its rich fossil record, particularly of dinosaurs, which dates back to about 75 to 71 million years ago, according to scientists.
“Here, we describe an exquisitely-preserved velociraptorine dromaeosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia, and refer it to the new species Shri rapax,” researchers wrote.
Shri rapax was found to have peculiar vertebral and pelvic features along with powerful hands.
It had a “very stout” thumb and claws which were “proportionally larger” than in any other dromaeosaurid, according to the study.
The dinosaur also had cranial adaptations hinting it supported a powerful bite.
“The most unusual feature of Shri rapax is the exceptional robustness of the hand,” scientists wrote in the study published in the journal Historical Biology.
Researchers suspect the dinosaur’s peculiar hands were adaptations that enabled it to target larger prey like the plant-eating dinosaur group ceratopsians.
“We suggest that frequent interactions with the ceratopsians, combined with active anti-predatory behaviour by the latter, could have promoted the evolution of more robust forearms and stockier hands among some Djadokhtan velociraptorines,” scientists wrote in the study.
“If we assume that Shri rapax shared the predatory behaviour of its close relative Velociraptor mongoliensis, the more robust proportions of its hands imply that it was better adapted to target larger and more robust prey than those usually preyed on by Velociraptor,” they wrote.
The findings suggest the new species was adapted to handling vertebrate prey larger than those preferred by the other bird-like dinosaurs that roamed the prehistoric Djadokhtan site.
These large prey likely also included immature individuals of armoured dinosaurs, scientists say.
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