New Rhinorex Dinosaur Had Mysteriously Large Nose

Paleontologists have finally unveiled their findings on a new dinosaur species called Rhinorex after years of work to dig a specimen's skull out of sandstone.

Likely a gentle herbivore, Rhinorex was unearthed in 1992 when two University of California, Riverside students were mapping out parts of the Book Cliffs in Utah, National Geographic reported. The specimen comprises a skull, skin impressions and a partial skeleton.

"We had almost the entire skull, which was wonderful," Terry Gates, co-author of the new findings, said in a statement, "but the preparation was very difficult. It took two years to dig the fossil out of the sandstone it was embedded in--it was like digging a dinosaur skull out of a concrete driveway."

Gates, a joint postdoctoral researcher with North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and colleague Rodney Sheetz from the Brigham Young Museum of Paleontology found the Rhinorex specimen in storage at BYU.

The newly discovered dinosaur probably measured around 30 feet long and weighed more than 8,500 pounds, according to an NC State news release. Its environment was about 50 miles from the coast and characterized by swampland.

So why did this peaceful dinosaur that lived in an estuarial habitat need such a large nose? The researchers, who have published their findings in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology, still aren't sure.

"The purpose of such a big nose is still a mystery," Gates said in the news release. "If this dinosaur is anything like its relatives then it likely did not have a super sense of smell; but maybe the nose was used as a means of attracting mates, recognizing members of its species, or even as a large attachment for a plant-smashing beak. We are already sniffing out answers to these questions."