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Leonardo Not Da Vinci but Duck- Billed Dinosaur

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Leonardo Not Da Vinci but Duck- Billed Dinosaur FamiliarCover Fossils Story Leonardo Not da Vinci but Duck- billed Dinosaur Leonardo da Vinci died in 1517. Leonardo the duck-billed dinosaur died about 77-million-years ago. Defying death, both continue to stay in the limelight. Leonardo da Vinci, because he was a polymath par excellence and Leonardo the duck- billed dinosaur ...well because, he is so marvelously well-preserved for his age. Scientifically speaking, Leonardo is a Brachylophosaurus canadensis. His name means short-crested reptile from Canada. There is evidence that Leonardo was bitten by a large predator shortly before his death. Scientists A demolition crew used explosives to free the entire, 18-foot (5.5-meter) piece of stone from suspect Leonardo died when he was trapped on a sandbar, the cliff. This chunk weighed 6.5 tons (5.9 metric tons) or about as much as five Mini Coopers and that the Sun desiccated his body before it was covered [Source: The Leonardo Project]. When researchers had to ship Leonardo for analysis, they in sand. The mummified fossil got the name because insured it for $2.5 million. graffiti near the site said “Leonard Webb loves Geneva Jordan 1916.” only change that time has wrought is that the soft tissue, The Judith River Dinosaur Institute’s Exploration is now, stone. Leonardo is a petrified fossil. team members discovered Leonardo on 27 July 2000 in The best part is that even his last meal has survived Montana, USA. The Institute had been established by Nate and is still present in his stomach. This provides “clear Murphy in 1993 and he was one of the members of the proof of diet.” Scientists say that he ate, “...a salad of ferns, team too. When Dan Stephenson discovered Leonardo magnolias and conifers.” They have actually been able to during the last hour of the last day of the summer identify the exact plants that he ate and also spotted at expedition, he immediately contacted Murphy who was least 40 different kinds of prehistoric plant pollen quick to spot the potential of the find. However, the site preserved in his gut. In addition, evidence of worm of the discovery did not allow swift excavation. infestation in his body has also been unearthed. This is Actual excavation began in the summer of 2001, when a regular cornucopia of ancient biodiversity that emerged low-impact charges were used to clear away boulders. A when Leonardo spilled his guts to science. road was cleared to the site and a bulldozer used to scrape Leonardo has thin and graceful front legs but strong off the hilltop. Team members dug a two meter deep trench and sturdy hind legs. He has a sharp beak that had enabled around the perimeter of the find, and then used delicate him to tear tough plant tissue. Leonardo is the first scalpels, brushes, and dental picks to free Leonardo from dinosaur fossil ever discovered that still shows evidence the rocky embrace that had kept him safe over millennia. of well-preserved skin. The texture of Leonardo’s skin It took them over nine weeks to take Leonardo out of his provides tantalizing clues about his lifestyle. For example, grave as a single 6.5-ton block. “He’s in the record books as large tubercules on his front legs indicate that the tough the largest dinosaur taken out in one chunk; it was a undergrowth of his forest habitat was rough on his skin. monumental undertaking,” says Murphy. It also hints that he often walked on all four legs, and The effort was definitely worth it! Leonardo turned was not exclusively two-legged. out to be one of the most complete Brachylophosaurus Leonardo’s importance has been summed up dinosaur fossils known to science. Today, he holds the succinctly by Nate Murphy: “For paleontologists, if you can Guinness World Record for being, “The best preserved find one complete specimen in a lifetime, you’ve hit the dinosaur remains in the world...” jackpot...To find one with so much external detail available, Brachylophosaurus was a social animal that grazed in it’s like going from a horse and buggy to a steam combustion herds. It was very common during the late Cretaceous engine. It will advance our science a quantum leap.” period about 76 million years ago. The adult males in the Leonardo knew well the Cenozoic mollusc and other herd could grow to nearly 13 m long. Leonardo was only fossils found in Italy, his country. There is no doubt that seven meters long, and weighed between 1.5 to 2 tons. It Leonardo, the duck-billed Brachylophosaurus canadensis, is thought that he was just 3-4 years old when he died, would have delighted him too. i.e., Leonardo is a sub-adult dinosaur. His fossilized skeleton is covered in soft tissue—skin, Dr Sukanya Datta, Scientist NISCAIR posted to Director General's Technical scales, muscle, and even footpads are all evident. The Cell, CSIR HQ, Email: [email protected] 53 SCIENCE REPORTER, MAY 2011.
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