AssetID: 54890733
Headline: 'New To Science' Species Of Dinosaur Goes On Display At London's Natural History Museum
Caption: 'New To Science' Species Of Dinosaur Goes On Display At London's Natural History Museum. Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae, a species of dinosaur new to science, has joined the residents of London’s Natural History museum. The dinosaur would have roamed North America in the Late Jurassic, 145-150 million years ago - now its fossilised skeleton will reside in the Museum’s Earth Hall. Museum experts have also carried out critical scientific research on the specimen, settling a century-long taxonomic tangle and defining this fossil as a new species to science. Wind the clock back 145 to 150 million years, and Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae, standing at half a metre tall and a little over a metre long would have been darting around the floodplains of the western United States in the shadows of giants like Diplodocus and Stegosaurus. There are signs that this specimen was not fully grown but would still have been a speedy runner. Unearthed back in 2021/2022 from a commercial quarry, Enigmacursor was acquired by the Museum from the gallery David Aaron Ltd. At the time, it was thought to be a Nanosaurus – a poorly-known species of small herbivorous dinosaur first named in the 1870s. However, differences between the original specimen and the Museum’s new specimen were the final pieces of the puzzle to confirm it as a new genus and species.
Keywords: Science & Technology,Species,dinosaur,display,Natural History Museum,London,Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae,North America,Late Jurassic,fossil,skeleton,scientific,research,taxonomic,tangle,floodplains,Diplodocus,Stegosaurus,specimen,Nanosaurus
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