Although it has a skeleton similar to many small dinosaurs from the previous Jurassic Period, on the outside we are facing an unusual dinosaur. The so-called Ubirajara jubatus possessed a mane of hair-like structures and at the same time presented two completely unique features .
About 110 million years ago, along the banks of an ancient lagoon in what is now northeastern Brazil, it walked on two legs and was the size of a chicken. And it was just described in the journal Cretaceous Research .
Two unique traits
On the one hand, Ubirajara jubatus must have displayed a dense crest of primitive feather-like structures, more like down than anything else. On the other hand, two very long "spikes" emerged from each of his shoulders. Both the crest and the spines seem to have been made of keratin , the same protein that gives resistance to our nails or our hair.
Ubirajara’s ribbon-like structures may have been used for display, possibly to attract teammates or intimidate opponents. They appear to be relatively flattened, like rigid ribbons, and in the middle of one of their faces, they present a longitudinal edge.
The hair-like structures of the Ubirajara appear to be a rudimentary form of feathers called proto-feathers. Many dinosaurs had feathers. In fact, birds evolved from tiny feathered dinosaurs about 150 million years ago .
Ubirajara jubatus fed by hunting insects and perhaps small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards.
While it is impossible to tell from the fossil, which arrived at a museum in the state of Ceará in the early 1990s, it is suspected that the Ubirajara may have displayed vivid colors.