New Dinosaur Species Discovered

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Adapted from Scholastic News, by Nicholas Friedman, Edition 5/6, March 3, 1995

Scientists are excited about a recent discovery they made in Africa. Beneath the sands of the Sahara Desert, they found the bones of two new dinosaur species. One dino is a fierce meat eater with razor-sharp teeth. The other is a giant plant eater that measures 55 feet long.

The Hunter And The Hunted

Dr. Paul Sereno, a paleontologist from the University of Chicago, unearthed the dinos. He named the meat eater Afrovenator (ahf-ro-veh-NAY-tor), or "hunter from Africa."

The plant-eating dinosaur won't have a name until Dr. Sereno finds its complete skull. But Sereno says this new species might have been an irresistible meal for the speedy Afrovenators.

New Information

Why are scientists so excited about these two new species? For one thing, it means they will have new information about dinosaurs from Africa. Compared to other places in the world, very few of the prehistoric beasts have unearthed there.

New Theories

The new dinos may also change scientists' theories on when Earth's continents formed. At one time, all seven continents were connected together in one supercontinent called Pangaea (pan-JEE-uh). Then, about 180 million years ago, the continents began to break apart.

Now, Sereno thinks that Africa and North America may have stayed connected longer than scientists believe. That is because both Afrovenator and the plant eater look like dinos that lived in North America. And both are from a time long after scientists think Africa broke away from North America.

The Future

With all the excitement about Afrovenator and the plant eater, many scientists have made plans to dig in Africa. Dinosaur researcher Dale Russell is one of them. "Africa's going to provide us with a lot of entertainment in the years ahead," said Russell.

Nick Friedman is the editor-in-chief of Scholastic Parent & Child.