Tuesday 13 August 2013

Fresh Analysis of Dinosaur Skulls Shows Three 'Species' Are Actually One

Aug. 10, 2013 — A new analysis of dinosaur fossils by University of Pennsylvania researchers has revealed that a number of specimens of the genus Psittacosaurus -- once believed to represent three different species -- are all members of a single species. The differences among the fossil remains that led other scientists to label them as separate species in fact arose from how the animals were buried and compressed, the study found.

"Because of the vagaries of fossilization, no two fossils are the same," said senior author Peter Dodson, professor of anatomy in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine and professor of paleontology in the School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Earth and Environmental Science. "Animals are alive and they die, but what's crucial in paleontology is what happens to the animals after they die."

The research involved a cutting-edge technique, known as three-dimensional geometric morphometrics, which uses lasers to generate data about the shape of different specimens. This is the first time the approach has been used to study dinosaur fossils and could lead to a re-examination of the taxonomic classifications of additional dinosaur species as well as other long-extinct fossil organisms.

Brandon Hedrick, a doctoral student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, led the study in collaboration with Dodson. Their research will be reported in the journal PLOS ONE.

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