A Brazilian scientist has identified fossils of a small reptile similar to a crocodile that lived in the Triassic Period, millions of years before the first dinosaurs.
The fossils of the predator, called Parvosuchus aurelioiinclude a complete skull, 11 vertebrae, the pelvis and some limb bones, according to paleontologist Rodrigo Müller, from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), author of the research published on Thursday (20) in the journal Scientific Reports.
O Parvosuchus, which lived about 237 million years ago, was quadrupedal and measured about one meter long. Their prey were smaller reptiles. The fossils were found in southern Brazil.
Parvosuchuswhich means “little crocodile”, belonged to the extinct family of reptiles called Gracilisuchidaewhich until now had only been found in Argentina and China.
“You Gracilisuchidae they are very rare organisms in the world of fossils,” Muller told Reuters.
“This group is particularly interesting because they lived before the arrival of dinosaurs. The first dinosaurs lived 230 million years ago.”
O Parvosuchus it was a terrestrial predator. You Gracilisuchidae represent one of the first branches of a lineage known as Pseudosuchia, which later included the crocodile. He lived in a time of evolutionary innovation after the worst mass extinction on Earth—252 million years ago—with several groups of reptiles competing before dinosaurs eventually became dominant.
The last members of Gracilisuchidae they died about seven million years before the first dinosaurs.
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*With report from Reuters TV
Source: CNN Brasil
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