The monster named Fona herzogae resides underground in what is now the state of Utah, USA.
According to Sci-News, the Fona herzogae monster is actually a species of thescelosaurine dinosaur, but it appears much more bizarre than its relatives.
In the unusual images described by scientists, two monsters – one juvenile and one adult – appear with a stocky body reminiscent of a T-rex, a head resembling that of a bird, and legs akin to ostriches but significantly larger and stronger.
Fona herzogae monster – (Graphic: Jorge Gonzalez).
Paleontologists from North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences excavated the first fossils of this creature in 2013 from an area within the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah.
Several other fossils have also been discovered in the region in subsequent years.
All the fossils are well-preserved, showing details that indicate it is a dinosaur-like creature with a unique appearance and the ability to burrow.
After years of excavation and research, they have successfully described a dinosaur species never before found anywhere else in the world in a published paper in the journal The Anatomical Record.
Fona herzogae is a small, herbivorous dinosaur about the size of a large dog.
It shares several anatomical features with known burrowing or digging animals: large forelimb muscles, strong muscle attachment points at the hips and legs, fused bones along the pelvis that could aid in stability while digging, and larger hind limbs compared to the forelimbs.
But that is not the only evidence suggesting this creature spent time underground.
The excellent preservation of the fossilized remains is another solid piece of evidence: they are often found intact, with many bones preserved in their original death posture, chest down, and forelimbs spread wide.
This suggests they may have been in underground burrows before death, thus inadvertently preserved in a “tomb” for nearly 100 million years.
Although researchers have not yet identified the burrows of Fona herzogae, the burrows of its closest relative, the Oryctodromeus dinosaur, have been found in Idaho and Montana.
This helps scientists have confidence in how this new monster species survived in Utah, which during the Cretaceous period was a floodplain “sandwiched” between an inland sea and a volcanic mountain range.
