A newly discovered dinosaur has just been discovered which possesses unique facial features and structure, resembling a donkey due to its downward, droopy face. The Sarmientosaurus musacchioi thrived in Argentina around 95 million years ago, which appeared to be a prehistoric version of Eeyore from Winne the Pooh.
However, this is not another prehistoric donkey ancestor but a member of the the colossally large Titanosaur family, that are known for their long necks and larger than life sizes. This new species also had the same qualities of its dino cousins however, it also had distinct qualities of its own.
This almost complete fossilized skull and neck were uncovered in Patagonia in Argentina where intensive analysis reveals that the skull originates from a previously unknown dinosaur species, as researchers scanned the skull via computerized tomography or CT scan.
According to Rubén Martínez from the Laboratorio de Paleovertebrados of Argentina and Matthew C. Lamanna from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, this discovery of the Sarmientosaurus only happens once in a lifetime, which is why the fossils are studied and examined ever so carefully to learn more about this amazing animal.
Titanosaurs also include sauropods or herbivores that consume massive amounts of leafy plants and trees with the help of their extra long necks. The largest sauropods were similar to the size of sperm whales and the smallest are the size of a cow.
Most titanosaurs also possessed small brains relative to its body size and the Sarmientosaurus is no exception to this. These dinosaurs may not have been intelligent but they had impressive sensory skills with large eyes, providing excellent vision and auditory abilities that can detect low frequencies, allowing the animals to hear sounds travelling in the air as they forage for leafy plants.
The inner ear structure of the Sarmientosaurus was designed specifically for balance indicating that they mostly carry their heads down towards the ground, This would also mean that their posture allowed them to graze grass and low lying plants.
Named after the town where the discovery was made, this dinosaur was also named after late paleontologist Eduardo Musacchio. Titanosaur skulls are also extremely rare, as even if there are more than 60 species identified, researchers found preserved skulls from just four species.
This new dinosaur discovery is detailed in the journal PLOS ONE.