RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A team of Brazilian scientists has discovered a fossil skeleton that may be one of the world’s oldest dinosaurs. heavy rain In the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the natural process of erosion has accelerated.
The fossil, found next to a reservoir in the city of São João do Polesine, is about 233 million years old, said paleontologist Rodrigo Temp Muller, who led the research team from the Federal University of Santa Maria that discovered the bones in May.
This claim has not been verified by other scientists or published in a scientific journal.
Researchers believe this dinosaur lived during the Triassic Period, when all the continents were part of a single landmass called Pangaea, the time when dinosaurs are thought to have first evolved.
The apex predator, discovered in Rio Grande do Sul state, belongs to a group known as herrerasauridae, a family of dinosaurs that roamed what is now Brazil and Argentina, according to a fact sheet about the discovery provided to The Associated Press.
The size of the bones revealed that the dinosaur reached a body length of about 2.5 metres (8.2 feet), according to the documents.
Rodrigo Tempe-Müller said he and his team were “very excited and surprised” by the discovery.
After about four days of excavation, the group of researchers transported the rock block containing the specimen to a lab for testing.
“At first it looked like just a few bones, but as we exposed more material we realized it was a nearly complete skeleton,” Muller said.
Experts hypothesize that the discovery is the second-most complete skeleton of this type of dinosaur.
Researchers are trying to determine whether the fossil belongs to a known species or whether it’s a new one, a process that’s expected to take several months and is being carried out with great care to avoid causing any damage.
Fossils are more likely to appear after it rains because water removes sediment covering the fossils, exposing them, a process called weathering.
Rio Grande do Sul state experienced record rainfall earlier this year. It caused a devastating flood At least 182 people died in May, according to a death toll released by the state’s civil defense authorities on July 8.
Extreme weather events are more likely to occur due to climate change, primarily caused by the burning of oil, gas and coal.
Muller said heavy rains have uncovered more fossils and a race against time is on to rescue them before they are damaged.
While at the site, he said his team observed “leg bones and pelvic bones that were already being destroyed by the rain.”
Muller hopes that the discovery will help shed light on the origins of dinosaurs.
“The discovery of these very well-preserved new fossils will undoubtedly help us to better understand this issue, which is still very much debated,” he said.
