It was first discovered over 20 years ago, but Alberta researchers have now realized that they had a new species of dinosaur sitting right under their noses all along.
The bones were discovered back in 1993, stored on a shelf at the Royal Tyrrell Museum and given little attention by scientists because they were believed to belong to a much more common species.
It was only when workers were preparing it for display for the museum's 25th anniversary that they made the breakthrough.
Greg Funston, a University of Alberta PhD candidate, named the find Apatoraptor pennatus, and says it came from a rarer type of dinosaurs, the caenagnathids.
The name means 'deceptive thief' which reflects the characteristics of the family that the animal belongs to.
“It’s really exciting on a personal level, but what I am most excited about is what it means for this field of paleontology. In future studies, it will help us to better understand these dinosaurs. It’s a really important specimen,” Funston said in a release.
The find is the most complete caenagnathid skeleton in Alberta and the bones are in the same position as they were when the animal died, making it completely unique.
Funston says that with the skeleton laid out the way it is, it gives researchers a much better idea of how it looked when it was alive.
CT scans of the fossil show that the animal also possessed feathers, particularly on the arms. It was unlikely that it wouldn't have been able to fly, but Funston says the feathers were for mating displays.
“Oviraptorosaurs, the bigger group to which Apatoraptor and other caenagnathids belong, were probably some of the flashiest dinosaurs. We know of three separate ways—head crests, tail feathers, and now arm feathers—that they would display to their mates.”
