New finding suggests three dinosaur species are one

Washington: Researchers have found that the fossil specimens of three dinosaur species actually belong to one single specie.

A new analysis of dinosaur fossils by University of Pennsylvania researchers has revealed that a number of specimens of the genus Psittacosaurus - once believed to represent three different species - are all members of a single species. The differences among the fossil remains that led other scientists to label them as separate species in fact arose from how the animals were buried and compressed, the study found. "Because of the vagaries of fossilization, no two fossils are the same," senior author Peter Dodson, professor of anatomy in Penn`s School of Veterinary Medicine and professor of paleontology in the School of Arts and Sciences` Department of Earth and Environmental Science, said. "Animals are alive and they die, but what`s crucial in paleontology is what happens to the animals after they die," he said. The research involved a cutting-edge technique, known as three-dimensional geometric morphometrics, which uses lasers to generate data about the shape of different specimens. This is the first time the approach has been used to study dinosaur fossils and could lead to a re-examination of the taxonomic classifications of additional dinosaur species as well as other long-extinct fossil organisms. The investigation focused on dinosaurs in the genus Psittacosaurus, a word that comes from the Greek for "parrot lizard." The group was named for the animal`s beaked face, not unlike that of a turtle. Originally discovered in 1923, 15 species have been classified as Psittacosaurus, though a recent analysis confirmed only nine of these as definite members of the genus. These animals were small plant-eaters that lived 120 to 125 million years ago. Paleontologists have discovered Psittacosaurus fossils in Mongolia, China and Russia and possibly in Thailand. The research is set to be published in the journal PLOS ONE. ANI