11th species of dinosaur discovered in north east Thailand

Thailand’s Mineral Resources Department says they’ve unearthed fossilised bones believed to belong to a species of mid-sized carnivorous dinosaur previously unrecorded in Thailand.

Called the Vayuraptor nongbualamphuensis, it is the 11th dinosaur species to be discovered in the Phu Wat excavation pits in Phu Kao-Phupandam national park in the north-eastern province of Nong Bua Lamphu, between Khon Kaen and Udon Thani. Archeologists describe the Vayuraptor nongbualamphuensis as a smaller cousin of the larger, fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex, aka. the T Rex.

The most recent findings of another species of Thai dinosaur were in July this year. Read about that HERE.

Mr. Pladet Srisuk, a research official at Maha Sarakham University, says the dinosaur’s name was drawn from the Sanskrit name of a Hindu god Vayu, or Phra Pai.

Judging from the fossilised leg bones, it is believed the creature was about 4-4.5 metres long and very agile. The dinosaur is classified as a member of the basal Coelurosauria family.

Vayuraptor was a dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period, which began about 130 million years ago and ended about 65 million years ago, around the time when 94% of the dinosaurs on planet Earth were wiped out, including the Vayuraptor.

The areas around the Phu Kao-Phupandam national park are proving to be a fertile digging ground for archeologists and have already turned up 1o other new sub-species of various dinosaur groups.

SOURCE: Thai PBS