Scientists recently announced they discovered a new dinosaur in the Egyptian desert, shedding light on Africa's missing history of dinosaurs, according to BBC.
Researchers have rarely discovered dinosaur fossils in Africa prior to this new find.
The new dinosaur, called Mansourasaurus shahinae, is a herbivore that stretches to about the size of a school bus. The dinosaur likely weighed about five tons, according to Reuters.
Paleontologists discovered the dinosaur during an expedition in Egypt.
"It was thrilling for my students to uncover bone after bone, as each new element we recovered helped to reveal who this giant dinosaur was," lead researcher Hesham Sallam of Mansoura University said, according to BBC.
The discoveries were published on Monday in the journal Nature.
Matt Lamanna, one of the studys authors, wrote in a blog post that the 2013 discovery is the Holy Grail.
He said dinosaur fossils from the Cretaceous Period, which was between 94 and 66 million years ago, are rare in Africa. He said that the continents began to separate during this era, which is also considered to be the final age of the dinosaurs.
The separating continents make it hard to figure out where the dinosaurs lived during their final years, Lamanna wrote. Several dinosaurs lived in what is now Utah around this time period.
Eric Gorscak, another co-author of the recent study, said this discovery might mean that dinosaurs migrated between Europe and Africa toward the end of their time on Earth, Time reported.
Africa remains a giant question mark in terms of land-dwelling animals at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs, Gorscak said, according to Time. Mansourasaurus helps us address longstanding questions about Africas fossil record and paleobiology.
Researchers have rarely discovered dinosaur fossils in Africa prior to this new find.
The new dinosaur, called Mansourasaurus shahinae, is a herbivore that stretches to about the size of a school bus. The dinosaur likely weighed about five tons, according to Reuters.
Paleontologists discovered the dinosaur during an expedition in Egypt.
"It was thrilling for my students to uncover bone after bone, as each new element we recovered helped to reveal who this giant dinosaur was," lead researcher Hesham Sallam of Mansoura University said, according to BBC.
The discoveries were published on Monday in the journal Nature.
Matt Lamanna, one of the studys authors, wrote in a blog post that the 2013 discovery is the Holy Grail.
He said dinosaur fossils from the Cretaceous Period, which was between 94 and 66 million years ago, are rare in Africa. He said that the continents began to separate during this era, which is also considered to be the final age of the dinosaurs.
The separating continents make it hard to figure out where the dinosaurs lived during their final years, Lamanna wrote. Several dinosaurs lived in what is now Utah around this time period.
Eric Gorscak, another co-author of the recent study, said this discovery might mean that dinosaurs migrated between Europe and Africa toward the end of their time on Earth, Time reported.
Africa remains a giant question mark in terms of land-dwelling animals at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs, Gorscak said, according to Time. Mansourasaurus helps us address longstanding questions about Africas fossil record and paleobiology.