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The Nigersaurus: dino-cow, lawnmower of the Mesozoic

Posted Nov 18, 2007 at 11:45AM by Isaac C. Listed in: Paleontology Tags: University of Chicago
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The Nigersaurus - Image 1 


The cow is kind of a biological lawnmower - meaning it's head is tilted towards the ground and if you leave it alone in a field somewhere it'll just mow it down. Well researchers may have found its dinosaur counterpart: the Nigersaurus which lived in the Mesozoic era.

Dubbed "the cow of the Mesozoic," enough bones of the dino were found to show that "in everyday life this animal had its nose pointed towards the ground" just like a cow. This goes against previous theories that the long-necked dino acted more like a giraffe.

The first remains found of the dino were found in Niger and evidence shows that the environment the dino lived in was covered in ferns and low-growing plants, which supports the theory of a cow-dino. Another piece of evidence that suggests this is the formation of the dino's teeth.

According to the findings, the teeth of the dino were packed into rows on the the upper and lower jaws, and acted like a pair of shears. The dino loses its teeth every month (which explains why it has so many rows of teeth).

The fast degradation of the teeth is the result of the Nigersaurus' bones' natural fragility. This is actually the reason why not enough bones have been found earlier because they easily get broken and only bits and pieces are left.

[Via Reuters] Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

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