Researchers believe they may possibly have stumbled on a new dinosaur species that lived in the Arctic 70 million yrs ago when the region was warmer than it is now.

The findings are based mostly on a “exceptional” piece of jawbone believed to belong to a juvenile dromaeosaurid dinosaur.

The predatory animals have been closely relevant to birds.

Dromaeosaurids, whose members incorporate the velociraptor, lived for the duration of the Cretaceous period of time in between 145 and 66 million years back.

Tooth-like remains of these creatures have previously been found in North The us, South The usa, and Asia, but deficiency of bone fossil records have made it hard for palaeontologists to trace the paths the dromaeosaurids took as they dispersed among continents.

Many experts believe that the Arctic was a “migratory pathway” for lots of dinosaurs when they crossed amongst Asia and North America.

But scientists now say the discovery of the jawbone fossil of a juvenile appears to contradict these strategies and believe that the animals lived there all yr round.

The palaeontologists say that the early developmental phase of the bone indicates the younger dromaeosaurid was born close by – robust proof that some of the dinosaurs were being nesting there.

The 14mm-prolonged fossil, which was observed close to the Arctic Ocean, is preserved at the Prince Creek Development of northern Alaska which hosts the world’s most significant assortment of polar dinosaur fossils.

It is the 1st identified non-dental dromaeosaurid fossil from the Arctic.

The scientists, whose examine was printed in the PLOS A person journal, say bones belonging to these dinosaurs are fragile and do not protect nicely in the fossil file.

One of the authors of the research Anthony R Fiorillo, of Southern Methodist College, reported: “Many years ago when dinosaurs had been initially found in the much north, the notion challenged what we imagine we know about dinosaurs.

“For some time afterwards, there was a good discussion as to whether or not or not individuals Arctic dinosaurs migrated or lived in the north calendar year round.

“All of all those arguments have been somewhat speculative in character.

“This review of a predatory dinosaur jaw from a toddler supplies the very first bodily evidence that at least some dinosaurs not only lived in the much north, but they thrived there.

“1 might even say our analyze reveals that the historical north was a good put to elevate a family and now we have to figure out why.”

The guide author of the examine Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, of Imperial School London, claimed: “Even with these types of an incomplete jaw fragment, our workforce was not only equipped to function out the evolutionary associations of this dinosaur, but also to picture some thing far more on the biology of these animals, in the end gaining much more facts on this Historic Arctic ecosystem.”