Paleontologists have discovered a new species of ancient crocodilian reptile that once roamed the lands and waters of Brazil.
The fossils, found in a fossil-rich locality called “Linha Várzea 2” in southern Brazil, are now called Parvosuchus aurelioi, a new ancient genus of small predatory reptiles dating back about 237 million years, according to an article published in Scientific Reports. on Thursday.
The new species belongs to a group of crocodilian reptiles called pseudosuchians and is the first “unambiguous” gracilisuchid, an extinct genus of small pseudosuchians, Rodrigo Müller, a paleontologist at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria and lead author of the paper, told me. ABC News by Email.
Before dinosaurs dominated Earth, pseudosuchians were a common form of reptile during the Triassic.
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The fossils were discovered in fossil-bearing beds that precede those that house the oldest dinosaurs, giving scientists clues about the “ecosystems that existed before the dawn of the dinosaur age,” Müller said.
“The presence of this small predator among the fossils of much larger predators suggests that these ecosystems, where Brazil is located today, were more complex than previously thought,” he said.
Gracilisuchids are extremely rare, Müller said, adding that there are only three other species worldwide: two from China and one from Argentina.
According to the paper, the smaller pseudosuchians lived alongside the larger top predators.
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The Parvosuchus aurelioi fossils consist of a partial skeleton, including a complete skull, including the lower jaw, 11 dorsal vertebrae, a pelvis, and partially preserved limbs.
The remains were covered in a thick layer of stone, with only some parts of the vertebrae visible at first glance, Müller said. After using acid solutions and pneumatic hammers during the preparation process, parts of the skull emerged from the rock, revealing a complete skull, he added.
“The moment I realized the skull was embedded in the rock was breathtaking,” Müller said. “As I slowly removed a layer of stone, part of the orbital rim became exposed. It was as if this animal was looking at me, as if it had been waiting all those endless years to tell its story.”
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The skull is less than 6 inches (15 cm) long and has long, slender jaws with pointed teeth that are curved backwards, as well as several skull openings.
Müller estimates that the animal was about 2.5 meters long and had a long tail. It probably stood on four legs adapted for walking on land and had blade-like teeth that could tear flesh.
The fossil also had a lightly built skeleton, indicating the animal was an agile hunter, Müller said.
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After carefully examining “every anatomical detail” of the fossil, researchers noticed features that had not been seen in other similar animals, Müller said.
“At this point it was clear I had a completely unknown species on my hands,” he said.
There are no clear data on what led to the extinction of the gracilisuchids, but a plausible hypothesis would be competition with the first dinosaurs or the climatic changes that occurred during the Late Triassic, when the Earth warmed due to massive volcanic eruptions that released large amounts of water were released. amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The name is derived from the Latin words “parvus” for “small” and “suchus” for “crocodile” and was also named in honor of paleontologist Pedro Lucas Porcela Aurélio, who discovered the fossil materials.
Paleontologists discover fossils of new crocodilian reptile species that lived 237 million years ago and originally appeared on abcnews.go.com