Palaeontologists from the University of Bucharest and Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest have discovered a new species of dinosaur in the Hateg Country (Tara Hategului) UNESCO Global Geopark, which is managed by the University of Bucharest.

According to a press release from the University of Bucharest sent to AGERPRES on Monday, the herbivorous dinosaur, which lived around 70 million years ago, has been named Kryptohadros kallaiae and is described in a study recently published in the scientific journal Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

Analyses carried out by researchers show that Kryptohadros kallaiae was related to other dinosaurs discovered in south-eastern Europe, such as Telmatosaurus from Romania and Tethyshadros from Italy. Together, these species form a distinct group of hadrosauroids called Telmatosauridae, which evolved in the south-eastern part of the European archipelago during the Late Cretaceous.

'Based on phylogenetic analyses, it appears that hadrosauroids that initially evolved in Asia reached Europe in several distinct waves of migration. One of these events brought the ancestors of Kryptohadros to south-eastern Europe. The discovery confirms that the faunas living on the European islands at that time were far more dynamic and diverse than previously thought,' explained Zoltan Csiki-Sava, a researcher at the University of Bucharest and coordinator of the Romanian research team, quoted in the press release.

The discovery is based on fossils from a newly identified site near the village of Valioara, in the western part of the Hateg Basin. Several fossil fragments belonging to a partial hadrosauroid skeleton were found there. Hadrosauroids are a group of herbivorous dinosaurs from the order Ornithischia, popularly known as 'duck-billed dinosaurs'. The fossils originate from geological deposits of the Densus-Ciula Formation, dating from the end of the Cretaceous period.

Researcher Gabor Botfalvai from Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest explained how the site was identified in 2022, after the construction of a forest road exposed layers of rock containing fossil fragments. Subsequent research showed that these were not just isolated remains but also parts of the skeleton of the same dinosaur individual.

'Skeletal remains that preserve elements from several parts of the body, including skull and limb elements, are very rare in the Hateg Basin, especially in the case of hadrosauroids. Most often only isolated fossils are discovered, which in the past were automatically attributed to Telmatosaurus. That is why a careful analysis of the material known for this ‘historic' species was necessary in order to correctly compare and interpret the new fossils,' explained Attila Osi, professor at Eotvos Lorand University and co-author of the study.

The Hateg Basin is one of the most important locations in Europe for the study of Late Cretaceous dinosaurs. For the Hateg Country UNESCO Global Geopark, managed by the University of Bucharest, such results represent an opportunity to bring the research carried out in this territory closer to the public and highlight how scientific discoveries contribute to understanding the history of life on Earth.

The Hateg Country UNESCO Global Geopark covers the entire Tara Hategului region and has UNESCO site status as part of the UNESCO International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme, which brings together 229 territories from 50 countries included in the Global Geoparks Network following a process of selection and validation. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Roberto Stan; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)