The discovery of one of the oldest fossils ever found provides new insight into the evolution of dinosaur
The rise of the dinosaurs may be explained by a fossil that is thought to be among the oldest ever discovered.
The discovery of the 237 million-year-old reptile was reported by Brazilian scientists.
The four-legged reptile species, known as Gondwanax paraisensis, was around one meter (39 inches) long, weighed between three and six kilograms (7 and 13 pounds), and was about the size of a small dog with a long tail, the scientists said in a statement on Monday.
When the planet was much hotter, the little reptile would have probably traversed the area that is now southern Brazil.
It has been determined that the fossil belongs to the extinct silesaurid group of reptiles. Whether silesaurids were actual dinosaurs or perhaps a forerunner of the animals that formerly ruled the planet is up for contention among paleontologists.
According to the statement, "knowing the traits of these ancestors could help us understand what was essential to the dinosaurs' evolutionary success."
The Gondwanax paraisensis fossil was discovered in a layer of rock that dates to the Triassic period, which occurred between 252 and 201 million years ago. This is the period when dinosaurs, mammals, crocodiles, turtles, and frogs first appeared.
It has been determined that the fossil belongs to the extinct silesaurid group of reptiles. Whether silesaurids were actual dinosaurs or perhaps a forerunner of the animals that formerly ruled the planet is up for contention among paleontologists.
According to the statement, "knowing the traits of these ancestors could help us understand what was essential to the dinosaurs' evolutionary success."
The Gondwanax paraisensis fossil was discovered in a layer of rock that dates to the Triassic period, which occurred between 252 and 201 million years ago. This is the period when dinosaurs, mammals, crocodiles, turtles, and frogs first appeared.
The fossil was discovered in 2014 by doctor Pedro Lucas Porcela Aurelio in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the municipality of Paraiso do Sul.
In 2021, he gave it to a nearby institution, beginning three years of study.
"It's amazing to be the first person to touch something that existed 237 million years ago," Aurelio told Reuters.
"It's an indescribable feeling," the self-described childish paleontology enthusiast stated.
Rodrigo Temp Müller, a paleontologist, wrote an essay on the discovery that was published in the scholarly journal Gondwana Research late last month.
"This finding's age is its most significant aspect," Müller stated in an interview. "It provides us with hints about the origins of dinosaurs because it is so old."
In 2021, he gave it to a nearby institution, beginning three years of study.
"It's amazing to be the first person to touch something that existed 237 million years ago," Aurelio told Reuters.
"It's an indescribable feeling," the self-described childish paleontology enthusiast stated.
Rodrigo Temp Müller, a paleontologist, wrote an essay on the discovery that was published in the scholarly journal Gondwana Research late last month.
"This finding's age is its most significant aspect," Müller stated in an interview. "It provides us with hints about the origins of dinosaurs because it is so old."
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.
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