有角恐龍是東亞和北美西部白堊紀(jì)晚期特色鮮明的動(dòng)物,，通常被認(rèn)為是那些地區(qū)的本地動(dòng)物,。有跡象表明，有角恐龍也可能出現(xiàn)在其他地方,，但此前一直沒有確鑿的證據(jù),。在今天匈牙利所在地方一個(gè)有角恐龍新種的發(fā)現(xiàn)表明，白堊紀(jì)晚期的生物地理仍有讓人們吃驚的東西有待發(fā)現(xiàn),。
當(dāng)時(shí)歐洲大部分地方是一個(gè)群島,，在非洲和歐亞大陸塊之間。雖然人們對(duì)其認(rèn)識(shí)還很有限,，但它仍有可能產(chǎn)生關(guān)于恐龍生物地理分布的相關(guān)信息,。
中國(guó)科學(xué)員古脊椎動(dòng)物與古人類研究所徐星研究員的一篇評(píng)述文章，對(duì)同期發(fā)表的一個(gè)歐美科學(xué)家小組有關(guān)新發(fā)現(xiàn)于匈牙利的角龍化石及其生物地理意義的研究成果進(jìn)行了評(píng)述,。這是徐星研究員應(yīng)《自然》雜志編輯Tim Lincoln博士的邀請(qǐng),，發(fā)表在“新聞與觀點(diǎn)”欄目的短文。“新聞與觀點(diǎn)”欄目是《自然》雜志最流行的欄目,，一般邀請(qǐng)常為《自然》審稿的專家對(duì)同期發(fā)表于《自然》雜志上較為重要或者能夠引起大眾興趣的科研論文進(jìn)行簡(jiǎn)介,，并指出研究成果的局限性和相關(guān)研究的未來方向。
徐星在文章中指出,，?si博士等人報(bào)道的新角龍類化石確實(shí)對(duì)于白堊紀(jì)晚期動(dòng)物地理學(xué)研究具有重要意義,，對(duì)于作者提出的發(fā)現(xiàn)于匈牙利的角龍可能是通過歐洲島鏈，穿越古特提斯洋,，從亞洲遷徙到歐洲的觀點(diǎn)表示贊同,。但是，徐星研究員認(rèn)為,，由于已知化石材料有限,，匈牙利角龍的系統(tǒng)發(fā)育位置存在不確定性；而且,，整個(gè)角龍家族的系統(tǒng)發(fā)育研究還有待深化,，所以，作者有關(guān)匈牙利角龍的亞洲來源說雖然最有可能,，但也不能完全排除北美來源說,。
徐星表示，歐洲的獨(dú)特地理位置決定了它在全球白堊紀(jì)晚期動(dòng)物地理學(xué)研究方向的重要性,，因此研究者將來應(yīng)該更多地關(guān)注歐洲白堊紀(jì)晚期的陸相動(dòng)物化石,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Nature doi:10.1038/nature09019
A Late Cretaceous ceratopsian dinosaur from Europe with Asian affinities
Attila ?si,Richard J. Butler& David B. Weishampel
Ceratopsians (horned dinosaurs) represent a highly diverse and abundant radiation of non-avian dinosaurs1, 2, 3, 4, 5 known primarily from the Cretaceous period (65–145 million years ago). This radiation has been considered to be geographically limited to Asia and western North America1, 2, 3, with only controversial remains reported from other continents. Here we describe new ceratopsian cranial material from the Late Cretaceous of Iharkút, Hungary6, from a coronosaurian ceratopsian, Ajkaceratops kozmai. Ajkaceratops is most similar to ‘bagaceratopsids’ such as Bagaceratops and Magnirostris, previously known only from Late Cretaceous east Asia3, 5, 7, 8. The new material unambiguously demonstrates that ceratopsians occupied Late Cretaceous Europe and, when considered with the recent discovery of possible leptoceratopsid teeth from Sweden9, indicates that the clade may have reached Europe on at least two independent occasions. European Late Cretaceous dinosaur faunas have been characterized as consisting of a mix of endemic ‘relictual’ taxa and ‘Gondwanan’ taxa, with typical Asian and North American groups largely absent10, 11. Ajkaceratops demonstrates that this prevailing biogeographical hypothesis is overly simplified and requires reassessment. Iharkút was part of the western Tethyan archipelago, a tectonically complex series of island chains between Africa and Europe12, and the occurrence of a coronosaurian ceratopsian in this locality may represent an early Late Cretaceous ‘island-hopping’ dispersal across the Tethys Ocean.
