A newly discovered fossil indicates that their was a dinosaur that existed with a super sense of smell. What is the name of this dinosaur that was probably envied by all? Saurornitholestes sullivani is the dinosaur that had a superior sense of smell compared to the others.
When the fossil was first found, the Saurornitholestes sullivani was wrongly identified as Saurornitholestes langstoni, which is in the dromaeosaurid family. It wasn’t until recently when the skull was examined further that it was realized this dinosaur was of a different species. It was from then on that the dinosaur became known as Saurornitholestes sullivani.
The defining feature that made researchers second guess what family this species belong to was the dinosaur’s olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb in that of a dinosaur of the Saurornitholestes langstoni family was smaller than that of the dinosaur discovered, so it was ruled out as being part of that particular family of dinosaur. The olfactory bulb on the Saurornitholestes sullivani was large, indicating it had a stronger sense of smell than most species of dinosaur, even that of Velociraptors and Bambiraptors.
The Saurornitholestes sullivani lived close to 75 million year ago during the Late Cretaceous period. was about 6-feet tall in length, but stood at about 3-feet tall at its hips. It was not a very large creature compared to most dinosaurs, but it was still an excellent hunter. It is believed that this super sense of smell in combination with its speed and agility made it an intimidating predator to anything it preyed on.
There was recently another dinosaur discovered with a new feature that fascinated researchers. A fossil was discovered in China, that revealed a pigeon-sized dinosaur with bat-like wings, called the Yi qi, once lived. This particular dinosaur featured hands with claws its body covered in small feathers. It did not, however, live at the same time as the Saurornitholestes sullivani. These dinosaur discoveries will surely not be the last this year. There have been more than five new dinosaurs discovered this year already, so it is expected that there will be more unearthed soon.
