A new species of dinosaur identified by Mexican palaeontologists is believed to have been "very communicative" and used low-frequency sounds like elephants to talk to each other, a researcher said Friday.
It has been named Tlatolophus galorum, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced.
The new species was identified as a crested dinosaur after 80% of its skull was unearthed, allowing experts - known as palaeontologists - to compare it to other similar dinosaurs.
The research began in 2013 with the discovery of a 72-million-year-old Hydrosaurids fossilised tail in Coahuila, north-west Mexico.
After initially discovering the tail, palaeontologists said they later found most of its skull, a 1.32m bony hollow crest through which it communicated, as well as bones such as its femur and shoulder.
"We are calculating the size, which could be between 8m and 12m long because just the tail is around 6m," said palaeobiologist Angel Alejandro Ramirez.
The results of the analysis showed that these remains differ from the remains of dinosaurs belonging to the family of Hydrosaurids.
"We believe that these dinosaurs, like modern birds, saw in colour and so these structures like the crest were possibly brightly coloured. They could have been completely red, or multi-coloured, with spots," Ramirez said.
The discovery is still under investigation, but research about the ancient reptile has already been published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research, according to the INAH.
