Dinosaur had a heart-shaped tail

There have been dinosaurs with feathers, “baby dragon” ones and even dinos that looked like ducks. Now, just in time for Valentine’s Day, scientists say they’ve discovered a dinosaur that had a heart-shaped tail.

Not just a novelty act, this new dinosaur – which scientist say wears its “heart” on its tail – provides new clues as to how ecosystems evolved in Africa, a new study suggests.

The new dinosaur is “a unique species and provides new insights into sauropod evolution,” the study said.

Sauropods were the largest land animals in Earth’s history. Other wellknow sauropods include Diplodocus, Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus.

This dinosaur was given the name Mnyamawamtuka moyowamkia, derived from the Swahili words meaning “beast of the Mtuka” and “heart of the tail,” referring respectively to the location it was found and to the heartshaped part of its tail vertebrae.

Lead authors of the study are Eric Gorscak of Midwestern University in Illinois and Patrick O’Connor of Ohio University.

The find shows a more complex picture of dinosaur evolution on Earth. O’Connor said that “each new discovery adds a bit more detail to the picture of what ecosystems on continental Africa were like during the Cretaceous.” The Cretaceous spans from 145 million years ago to 66 million years ago.

Fossils of the creature’s skeleton were discovered in southwestern Tanzania, high in a cliff wall overlooking the seasonally dry Mtuka riverbed.

The new dinosaur is yet another member of titanosaur sauropods.

Titanosaurs were the most widespread group of sauropods, which reached their peak in the Late Cretaceous after all other sauropod groups vanished. Scientists say their early evolution is poorly understood because of a lack of fossils in places outside South America.

Judy Skog of the National Science Foundation said “this new dinosaur gives us important information about African fauna during a time of evolutionary change.”

The research was published in journal PLOS-ONE. a publication of the Public Library of Science.

Scientists found a new dinosaur overlooking the dry Mtuka riverbed in Tanzania. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION