Washington (PTI): Palaeontologists have claimed that a gruesome feeding war some 73 million years ago may have led to the evolution of new dinosaur species in Alberta.

An international team has based its findings on an analysis of a nesting site and remains of baby plant-eating dinosaurs and the teeth of a predator which they discovered in Grande Prairie, 450 km northwest of Edmonton in Alberta.

The team matched the teeth to a Troodon, a raptor-like dinosaur about two metres in length to reach the conclusion, a finding which has opened new doors in dinosaur research.

"Prior to this there were no localities with a variety of dinosaurs and other animals between Alaska and southern Alberta. It established that dinosaurs were nesting at this high latitude.

"It also shows for the first time a significant number of Troodons in the area (who) hunted hatchling dinosaurs," said team leader Tetsuto Miyashita of University of Alberta.

And, over the course of time, the palaeontologists found a "missing link" between known dinosaur species that existed much further to the north and south. The list of new finds for the area includes armoured and thick-headed plant eaters and fossilised freshwater fish and reptiles.

"New dinosaurs weren't created by interbreeding.Having a variety of dinosaurs in one area creates new ecological interactions such as competition for food and predation. That can lead to the evolution of a new species," Mr. Miyashita said.

In fact, one Grande Prairie dinosaur the team suspects is a new species is the Duck bill. "Unlike the Duck bill found further north in Alaska, the Grande Prairie has a visible bump or crest on its forehead. The pair will go back to Grande Prairie area in 2010 to focus on finding other dinosaur species in the area," Mr. Miyashita said.

The findings have been published in the latest edition of Palaeogeoraphy, Palaeocilmatology, Palaeoecology Journal.