Well-preserved skull: Researchers discover new species of dinosaur in Mexico

In Mexico, researchers say they have discovered a previously unknown genus and species of dinosaurs.

The National Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH) announced that it could be identified because an almost 80 percent preserved skull was found during excavations in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.

This also included a 1.32 meter long ridge.

The name of the herbivorous species is Tlatolophus galorum.

The generic name Tlatolophus is composed of the word Tlahtolli (word) in the Aztec language Nahuatl and the Greek word Lophus (comb), it was said.

The shape of the dinosaur's crest resembles a symbol used by Mesoamerican peoples to represent communication and knowledge, according to the experts.

The comb also had a communication function: through inner passages that connect the nose and windpipe, it worked like an integrated trumpet.

Exceptional case in Mexican paleontology

The discovery was preceded by the discovery of the animal's tail in 2005, as the scientists from INAH and the UNAM University in Mexico City also explained in the specialist publication "Cretaceous Research".

In 2013, this was therefore salvaged.

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The dinosaur must have died 72 or 73 million years ago in a body of water that was rich in sediments, the INAH said.

As a result, his body must have been quickly covered by earth, which preserved it.

"This fossil is an exception in Mexican paleontology because extremely fortunate events had to take place millions of years ago when Coahuila was a tropical region in order for it to be preserved under the conditions in which we found it," said paleontologist Felisa Aguilar.

jme / dpa