A new dinosaur called "mud dragon" was unearthed in China when construction workers were bombing bedrock to pave the way for a new school. The fossilized remains are still in pristine conditions and were almost destroyed by this dynamite explosions.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh call this new dinosaur the Tongtianlong limosus or "muddy dragon on the road to heaven." The ancient creature measured almost two meters long with arms that resemble wings, a toothless beak, and a dome-shaped crest on top of its head.
The mud dragon is estimated to have live some 66 to 72 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. It was almost not discovered as the construction site was setting off dynamite off the hillside in Ganzhou, southeastern China, according to paleontologist, Stephen Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh.
Scientists predict that the specimen used to be an originally complete fossil. However, since workers were not aware of the fossils, they blasted surrounding bedrock with dynamite. Some parts of the skeleton are now missing.
Brusatte says that this new dinosaur discovery suggests that the Tongtianlong along with five other species of oviraptorosaurs which were found in southern China were on the verge of species diversification during the last few million years before dinosaurs went extinct.
Brusatte also describes the tragic death of this newly found Tongtianlong specimen, describing that its neck is arched with its head sticking upwards and it arms stretching outwards from its sides. This bizarre posture suggests that the dinosaur was trapped in the mud and struggled to get free but died and got buried inside the mud rock.
This new study was published in the journal, Scientific Reports.