In its August edition, the journal Scientific Reports presented a new armored dinosaur discovered in Argentina: Jakapil kaniukura.
The biped is thought to have lived more than 100 billion years ago in the Kokorkom Desert, current Río Negro.
The discovery was made in the northern Patagonia region.
The new animal, when compared to the other species of its kind, is smaller, having approximately 1,5 meters in length and it weighs between 4-7 kilos.
Primer dinosaurio acorazado bípedo de Sudamérica: "Jakapil kaniukura"
— mauricio alvarez a (@arbalbel) August 11, 2022
Arte con Gabriel Díaz para investigadores CONICET, Fundación Azara, U Maimónides y U del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea Gracias Sebastián Apesteguía, Facundo Riguetti y Xabier Pereda. pic.twitter.com/Enm2O6vY8W
Its teeth have the shape of a leaf, similar to the iguanas at the moment, and a unique mandibula that is relatively small with a sharp crest. It also has disc-shaped shields.
The dinosaur was given the name Jakapil kaniukura, in tribute to the indigenous languages of Patagonia.
"Ja-Kapil" means "shield carrier" in the northern language of Tehuelche, while the "kaniukura" is a reference to the "stone crest" that characterizes the specie, in the language of Mapudungun.
The region of the discovery was actually where the Kokorkom Desert was 100 million years ago. The investigators that discovered the dinosaur started to find some of its remnants in 2014. Until 2020 they continued to identify more bones.
• Jakapil kaniukura •
— PaleoGDY (@PaleoGDY) August 11, 2022
here is the first thyreophoran from Argentinian Patagonia
Such an honour work with Sebastian Apesteguia, Facundo Riguetti and Mauricio Álvarez to achieve this reconstruction.#blender #blendercommunity #paleoart #paleontology #Jakapil #Argentina pic.twitter.com/Hf4ZphlWsH
