Most Costly Dinosaur Fossil Ever May Reveal Stegosaurus Secrets and techniques

Most Costly Dinosaur Fossil Ever May Reveal Stegosaurus Secrets and techniques

By Zane Wolf edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier

My first go to to the American Museum of Pure Historical past (AMNH) concerned a flurry of media cameras, a sea of press badges and no small quantity of intrigue. We had all been invited to witness the revealing of one thing. The museum made it clear we might count on to see a spectacular specimen that might “rival the ranks of storied favorites” comparable to Sue, the spectacular and beloved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen at Chicago’s Area Museum.

Suffice it to say the AMNH delivered. Following a countdown from a bevy of schoolchildren on the entrance of the gang, curtains have been drawn to disclose Apex, probably the most full and largest Stegosaurus fossils but found. The fossil was purchased for a record-breaking $44.6 million final July—it’s the most costly ever offered at public sale, in accordance with AP—and is at present on a long-term mortgage to the museum.

On supporting science journalism

Should you’re having fun with this text, take into account supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By buying a subscription you’re serving to to make sure the way forward for impactful tales in regards to the discoveries and concepts shaping our world right this moment.

Apex (named, aptly, for its dimension) is 11.5 toes tall and 27 toes lengthy, and it died round 150 million years in the past—the height period for Stegosaurus when it comes to species range and inhabitants density. A substantial quantity—roughly 80 p.c—of Apex’s skeleton was recovered, and in contrast with different Stegosaurus specimens with related quantities of skeletal materials, this specimen’s fossilization course of preserved its three-dimensional traits exceptionally effectively. “The important thing for me is those bones come from all of the major regions of the skeleton, so we’re not missing important parts of this animal,” says Roger Benson, Macaulay Curator of Paleontology and curator-in-charge of fossil amphibians, reptiles, and birds and fossil vegetation on the AMNH. Apex’s completeness and dimension might give scientists an important alternative to reply some excellent primary questions.

As an illustration, researchers nonetheless aren’t positive what the huge, iconic again plates of Stegosaurus have been good for, explains Paul Barrett, a paleontologist and dinosaur specialist on the Pure Historical past Museum in London. Had been they used for thermoregulation or protection? And if it was the latter, how efficient have been they at heading off assaults? With a whole lot of well-preserved skeleton to work with, scientists are sure to seek out extra clues about performance.

Due to Apex’s completeness, it may be used to craft digital fashions to review how this animal moved compared to smaller specimens, displaying how locomotion gaits might need modified because the animals matured. “Apex adds another really important point of comparison for all the other Stegosaurus remains that we already know about, and it’s particularly important in that it’s near the very top end of the size range,” Barrett explains.

Apex’s massive dimension additionally suggests this dinosaur specimen died when it was comparatively mature, which might be a rarity. “Dinosaurs were living a kind of rock-star lifestyle of living fast and dying young,” Barrett says, and the dearth of absolutely grownup specimens creates a big hole in our data about how and when these animals reached full maturity.

Benson and Barrett describe two methods to find out organic age in a fossil. First, vertebrates are sometimes born with extra bones than they’ve after they die as a result of some ultimately fuse collectively. Human craniums are a primary instance, consisting of 5 separate main bones that fuse into one construction after beginning. In Apex, Benson explains, “every single vertebra is fused, and that’s one of the really clear signs of older age.”

Second, like tree rings, patterns of bone progress can point out intervals of quick and gradual progress in addition to general age. By trying throughout bone samples from small, youthful specimens and bigger, grownup specimens like Apex, it’s attainable to assemble a mannequin of when and the way quickly Stegosaurus grew throughout totally different intervals of its life. This could yield precious details about its general metabolism and the period of assorted life phases.