A fossil, thought to be one of the oldest ever discovered, could shed new light on how the dinosaurs formed from early predecessors.
Scientists in Brazil have announced the discovery of a new type of early reptile that was like but not a dinosaur that is as 237 million years.
The four-legged new species has been named Gondwanax paraisensis, and was about the size of a small dog – or about a metre long.
Gondwanax means “lord of Gondwana,” referring to the Gondwana landmass in the southern region of the supercontinent Pangaea before the continents broke apart, while paraisensis honors the town of Paraiso do Sul, where it was found.
It would have weighed between three and six kg, the team who discovered it said.
It would have lived in the area that is now south Brazil when the world was significantly hotter.
The palaeontologists said it was a type of silesaurid, which is a long extinct group of reptiles.
It has long been debated if silesaurids were dinosaurs or instead a precursor to the huge creatures that went on to dominate the Earth for millions of years.
The team, based at the Federal University of Santa Maria, said in a statement: “Understanding the characteristics of these precursors could shed light on what was crucial for the dinosaurs’ evolutionary success.”
The fossil remains were found in a layer of rock from the Triassic period, between 252 million and 201 million years ago.
This was a time when reptiles, including crocodiles and turtles, plus frogs and mammals were starting to thrive.
The fossil itself was found ten years ago in 2014 by physician Pedro Lucas Porcela Aurelio in Paraiso do Sul in Brazil’s southernmost Rio Grande do Sul state.
He held on to it until 2021 when it was donated it to a local university, starting three years of research.
Mr Aurelio said: “Being the first human to touch something from 237 million years ago is extraordinary.
“It’s an indescribable feeling.”
The discovery is detailed in an article by paleontologist Rodrigo Temp Müller published late last month in the scientific journal Gondwana Research.
Mr Müller said: “The most important part of this finding is its age. Because it’s so old, it gives us clues as to how dinosaurs came to be.”
He said that when donated, the remains were covered by a thick layer of rock with only parts of the vertebrae visible.
