Sektensaurus

Sektensaurus is the first non-hadrosauroid ornithopod found in central Patagonia, meaning it was not a duck-billed dinosaur but a close relative.1

Its name comes from the Tehuelche word 'sekten' meaning 'island', because its fossils were found on an island that appears when the lake level is low.1

The fossils were discovered in 1993 by a palaeontologist named Marcello Luna, but the dinosaur wasn't named until 2019.1

Scientists think Sektensaurus lived about 68 to 66 million years ago, right before the big extinction that killed the non-bird dinosaurs.1

The skeleton was found in a small area, just 3 metres (about 10 feet) across, and all the bones belonged to one adult animal.1

Some bones that were first thought to be from the arm and leg were later re-identified, showing that scientists can change their minds about fossils.1