Ancient links: Articulated hand of the predatory dinosaur Megaraptor namunhuaiquii from the mid-Cretaceous of Argentina superimposed on several paleogeographic maps of the mid-Cretaceous.
Credit: Nathan Smith, Field Museum
Piece of the puzzle
“We’ve always thought that faunal exchange [the movement of dinosaurs] was happening across Gondwana, between Australia and South America, but here is our proof of the idea,” palaeontologist Robert Jones, from the Australian Museum in Sydney, said of the research.
But we haven’t solved a revolutionary puzzle just yet, he warned. “The problem here is that we’re only talking about an isolated bone, a fragment of one animal, so realistically there’s only so much we can suggest from it.”
The authors of the study agree – but are hopeful more proof is on the way. “In recent years we’ve had many fossil discoveries in areas that were once part of Gondwana,” Salisbury said. “We need to be checking out the details of these closely, because that’s probably where we’ll find the answers to exactly what types of dinosaurs occurred in Australia.”
