70-million-year-old Moroccan dinosaur fossil reveals an ancient link between continents – The Times of India
Fossils are like a peek into the past, giving us information when human kind did not even exist. The discovery of fossils acts as a key that unlocks hidden chapters of our planet’s distant past.Paleontologists have recently found the remains of a new titanosaur species in Morocco that walked the earth approximately 70 million years ago, and it gives a new perspective about dinosaur evolution and the connections between continents during the Late Cretaceous period.While there are not many fossil records available from this region, this new specimen offers a rare and clear glimpse into a complex ecosystem that was far more interconnected than previously believed.
Representative Image
70 million year old dinosaur fossil found on sea bed- bridge
According to a study published in the journal Diversity, the Phosphatotitan khouribgaensis was discovered within the phosphate-rich Oulad Abdoun Basin in Morocco’s Khouribga region.Paleontologists found vertebrae, along with pelvic and sacral fragments, which gives sufficient evidence to define it as a distinct new species. According to researchers, these fossils were preserved in “phosphatic sandstones, marls and limestones” that were deposited in a “warm, shallow epicontinental sea”. This geological setting suggests that the region acted as a critical interface or a bridge between land and sea, which probably impacted the evolution of the species living there.
A surprising evolutionary bridge
The discovery is particularly important because Phosphatotitan shares physical traits with the Lognkosauria group, which is a type of titanosaur previously thought to live only in South America.This connecting interface or bridge suggests that dinosaur populations in Africa and South America were more closely connected than scientists once assumed.Dr. Nick Longrich, a researcher from the study and his colleagues pointed out that this period, just before the mass extinction, was a time of major dinosaur evolution, and this fossil discovery helps fix a gap in our understanding of African wildlife.It is this species which shows that these massive dinosaurs may have been able to travel across vast distances or share ancestors even across major ocean barriers.
A time of peak evolution
Unlike its massive South American relatives, Phosphatotitan was relatively small, weighing in at approximately 3.5 to 4 tons. The authors of the study published in Diversity mentioned, “Phosphat
