Discovered a new species of dinosaur with wings in Argentina

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a team of Argentine paleontologists discovered a new species of dinosaur from about 90 million years ago, which had wings on the upper body and legs like raptors, which "provides clues to clarify the evolutionary origin of birds", reported this week the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences (MACN).

The remains of that species, called 'Overoraptor chimentoi', were found in the Patagonian province of Río Negro during two campaigns in 2013, when they found a small sharp claw on one leg, and in 2018, when recovering «more materials from the skeleton like vertebrae, parts of the scapular and pelvic girdles and bones of the wing and legs, "reads the recent study, published in the journal The Science of Nature.

According to the researchers, it is a small animal, approximately one and a half meters long, with long legs, which means that "it was a fast runner." In addition, it is possible that their upper extremities were able to make complex movements and automatically fold to the side of the body, similar to the wings of birds, such as those of rheas and condors.

"Our hypothesis is that in the case of the Overoraptor, the ability to automatically fold the wings must have had a different function from that of flying birds, given that it is a running animal," said Matías Motta, scientist at MACN . "It is possible that the arms had the role of guaranteeing balance during the race - by providing greater balance and precision - thanks to the possibility of moving them in a rhythmic way, as happens in running birds such as the rhea or the ostriches," he explained.