New Dinosaur had memorable Smile

A new dinosaur unearthed in Wyoming had such great teeth that its jaws continually looked to be smiling an enormous grin.

Kaatedocus had a set of pencil-like teeth in the face part of the gag," Mateus explained. "They were modified for eating plant life. As for many sauropods, because those teeth were not modified for chewing, Kaatedocus possibly ingested gastroliths or gizzard stones."

Kaatedocus lived 150 million years ago, throughout the Late Jurassic era. A comparative of Diplodocus, this dinosaur lived earlier and was slighter. The huge bulk of species from this dinosaur family come from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western United States. In contrast, this new dinosaur was found extra north, signifying that consequent generations gradually moved southward over time.

Mateus and a worldwide team studied the well-preserved relics of Kaatedocus. Often quite a tad of creative allows is necessary during reconstructions, but in this case, even the skull makes clear the dinosaurs "smiling" look.

In terms of the new Wyoming discovery, Mateus said, "This class is lesser and slightly older than other dinosaurs of the equal family, it is significant for understanding the development of all Diplodocus-like dinosaurs."