New dinosaur found in Mexico was 'very communicative'
A new species of dinosaur named Tlatolophus galorum is shown in this undated illustration obtained by Reuters on May 13, 2021. Palaeontologists found its 72 million-year-old fossilised remains almost a decade ago in General Cepeda, Coahuila, Mexico. (Image: National Institute of Anthropology and History/Handout via Reuters)
MEXICO CITY: A new species of dinosaur identified by Mexican palaeontologists is believed to have been "very communicative" and used low-frequency sounds like elephants to talk to each other, a researcher said on Friday (May 14).
The specimen, which has been named Tlatolophus galorum, is thought to have died around 72 million years ago in what is now Mexico's northern state of Coahuila.
After initially discovering the tail, palaeontologists said they later found most of its skull, a 1.32m bony hollow crest through which it communicated, as well as bones such as its femur and shoulder.
"We are calculating the size, which could be between 8m and 12m long because just the tail is around 6m," said palaeobiologist Angel Alejandro Ramirez.
"We believe that these dinosaurs were very communicative. They even produced and perceived low-frequency sounds like those made by elephants, which travel several kilometres and are imperceptible to humans," added Ramirez.
These "peaceful, but talkative" dinosaurs could also have had the ability to emit loud sounds to scare off predators, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said on Thursday when it announced the discovery.
Mexican researchers think Tlatolophus galorum's crest may have been red.
"We believe that these dinosaurs, like modern birds, saw in colour and so these structures like the crest were possibly brightly coloured. They could have been completely red, or multi-coloured, with spots," Ramirez said.
The discovery is still under investigation, but research about the ancient reptile has already been published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research, according to the INAH.
"It is an exceptional case in Mexican palaeontology," it said. "Highly favourable events had to occur millions of years ago, when Coahuila was a tropical region, for it to be conserved in the conditions it was found in."
The name Tlatolophus is derived from tlahtolli - which means "word" in the indigenous Nahuatl language - and lophus, meaning "crest" in Greek, the researchers said.
