A research group led by Junki Yoshida, Curator of the Fukushima Prefectural Museum, Kaiji Kobayashi, Professor of the Hokkaido University Museum, and Dr. Mark Norrell of the American Museum of Natural History, has been working to develop the fossils of Pinacosaurus, an armored dinosaur discovered in Mongolia, into the world. The first larynx fossil was discovered in
According to the Fukushima Prefectural Museum, Pinacosaurus lived in the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era (approximately 8,400 to 7,200 million years ago), and was a four-legged herbivorous dinosaur covered in armor-like dermal bones.The fossil was discovered in 4 by the US Museum of Natural History in Mongolia's Gobi Desert.It was in the best state of preservation in the world, with most of its bones still connected.
When the research group closely observed the fossil and compared it with more than 100 pharyngeal bone specimens of modern birds and reptiles, they found that the unidentified bone within the skull was the pharyngeal bone.It is the first time in the world that a fossil pharynx bone of a dinosaur has been found.
The pharyngeal bones of Pinacosaurus resembled those of birds, with a large ring-shaped bone and a protuberance on the arytenoid.It can be said that it is a form suitable for vocal communication like birds, and it is highly likely that it made vocalizations similar to those of birds.
The discovery of fossilized dinosaur pharyngeal bones is expected to advance research on the evolution of dinosaur vocalizations, which has been largely untapped until now.It is likely to be a big step toward elucidating the ecology of dinosaurs, which still has many unclear points.
Replica specimens of the found fossils are on display at the Fukushima Prefectural Museum's point exhibition "World's First! Dinosaur Throat Fossils" from February 2 (Thursday) to March 16 (Friday).
Paper information:[Communications Biology] An ankylosaur larynx provides insights for bird-like vocalization in non-avian dinosaur
