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Courtesy of The Perot Museum of Nature and Science
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Courtesy of The Perot Museum of Nature and Science
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Courtesy of The Perot Museum of Nature and Science
A new dinosaur species was recently discovered along the sandy rock exposures of Grapevine Lake.
Ampelognathus coheni was identified as a small, herbivorous dinosaur based on a partial lower jaw bone finding. The 2-inch-long fossil of the lower left jaw is now curated in the collections of the Perot Museum in Dallas. The name Ampelognathus means “Grapevine jaw,” and the species name coheni honors Murray Cohen, the Perot Museum volunteer who found the specimen.
"The identification of Ampelognathus coheni represents an important find for the Perot Museum and its research team, continuing our mission to inspire minds through nature and science," says vice president of science Dr. Ron Tykoski. "The discovery helps us better understand the diversity of dinosaurs that once thrived in North Texas."
Ampelognathus coheni likely measured less than 6-feet long and weighed no more than a medium-sized dog when it roamed the DFW area approximately 96 million years ago. The fossil marks the first known small-bodied, plant-eating ornithopod dinosaur from the Lewisville Formation in Texas. Ampelognathus is also the fourth dinosaur specimen named from the rocks of the DFW area, joining the armored dinosaur Pawpawsaurus, the large plant-eater Protohadros and the bird Flexomornis.
"This needle-in-a-haystack find enhances what we know about prehistoric life in North Texas," curator of paleobotany Dr. Dori Contreras says. "This discovery helps us reconstruct the ecosystem along the ancient shoreline that cut across the region at the time. Stories of discovery like this help us inspire youth toward a lifelong love of science."
To learn more about the discovery, visit TAndFOnline.com.