A 30-foot long dinosaur discovered on the banks of the Rio Colorado in Argentina is helping scientists create stronger links between dinosaurs and their evolutionary remnant, birds. At a press report in Mendoza, scientists presented their papers, which were published the same day in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE. According to Science Daily, the dinosaur, discovered in 1996, was an exciting find because it was a complete skeleton of an Aerosteon. Scientists soon realized that the skeleton’s bones preserved hallmark features of a bird-like respiratory system, allowing them to see how the dinosaur’s lungs may have worked. They found that outpocketings of the lungs, essentially air sacs, had invaded the bones, much in the way they do in the body of a bird. Argentina is known for having a remarkable wealth of dinosaur fossils and skeletons, and this exciting find can now be added to that important collection.
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