A new species of dinosaur that played the trumpet has been unearthed in Mexico. Given the lack of fossils from the region the find has got people pretty excited.

“To date, the dinosaur record from Mexico has been sparse,” says Terry Gates, of the Utah Museum of Natural History (press release).

Colleague Scott Sampson adds, “This is the first dinosaur that can be officially named from the country of Mexico. It’s tough to find fossils in most places, but it’s more difficult in Mexico because not a lot of rock is exposed.” (Daily Utah Chronicle.)

Some media reports are also playing on the fact this ‘puts Mexico on the dinosaur map’.

Researchers from the museum think the specimen was probably about 8 metres long. They’ve named Velafrons coahuilensis after the sail shape on its head (Velafrons = combination of Latin and Spanish meaning "sailed forehead, coahuilensis = the beast was found in the Coahuila state north Mexico).

It probably lived on beaches says Gates, who told Reuters “Velafrons was probably a beach bum”. It was also musical. By blowing air through nasal passages that extended through its ‘sail’ it could produce a trumpeting sound. They may even have played in bands.

“It’s our best guess that these things would be honking away pretty bad during the mating season, hoping to attract females,” Gates says (Deseret Morning News).

Trumpet head is described in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology.

Photo: Utah Museum of Natural History

Illustration: Todd Marshall