Fossils reveal a new dinosaur species that was the size of dogs - Fox News

Fossils found in Chile are from a strange-looking dog-sized dinosaur species that had a unique slashing tail weapon, scientists reported Wednesday. .

The new species, described in a study in the journal Nature, has something never seen before on any animal: seven pairs of "blades" laid out sideways like a slicing weapon used by ancient Aztec warriors, said lead author Alex Vargas. .

"It’s a really unusual weapon," said Vargas, a University of Chile paleontologist.

Fossils found in Chile are from the bizarre dog-sized dinosaur species that had a unique slashing tail weapon, scientists reported Wednesday, Dec.

The back end, including its tail weapon, seemed similar to a stegosaurus, so the researchers named it stegouros elengassen. 

This photo shows a view of a model of a stegouros elengassen, a new species of non-avian dinosaur whose remains were discovered intact in the Patagonia, as its remains are displayed in Santiago on Dec

From bird-like snout to tail tip, stegouros stretched about six feet (two meters) but would only come up to the thighs of humans, Vargas said. 

The tail was probably for defense against large predators, which were also likely turned off by armor-like bones jutting out that made stegouros "chewy," Vargas said. 

Fossils found in Chile are from the bizarre dog-sized dinosaur species that had a unique slashing tail weapon, scientists reported Wednesday, Dec

Not only is this "a really bizarre tail," but it is from far southern Chile, "a region that hasn’t yielded these types of animals before," said Macalester College biologist Kristi Curry Rogers, who wasn’t part of the study.