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OU Professor Part of Team in New Dinosaur Discovery
By: WOUB Staff Writer
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An Ohio University professor is part of a team of scientists who discovered a new kind of dinosaur.
Paleontologist Dr. Patrick O' Connor says they found the rare new species of raptor dinosaur in south central Utah. "A few years back, I was working with a group of people from the University of Utah and a few other places, doing prospecting in the part of Utah that hasn't had a lot of work done in it. We found a number of new things, including a new speicies of small-bodied predatory dinosaur," said O'Connor.
O'Connor says the new species could shed more light into several species of dinosaur.
The new dinosaur is named Talos sampsoni. O'Connor estimates it stood about six feet tall and weighed nearly 80 pounds. The dinosaur is classified as a member of a group of feathered, bird-like raptors.
"One of the unique things about this group of dinosaurs is that they have this very enlarged sickle-like claw on one of their toes," he explained.
O'Connor added that the animal had a fractured toe that will help scientists document dinosaurs' ability to take impact and heal. He says researchers will now begin examining how the dinosaur used the talon.