Researchers have discovered a giant warrior lizard that stalked Brazil 240 million years ago during the Triassic period, shortly before the emergence of dinosaurs. The discovery fills gaps in our understanding of the time when dinosaurs dominated the Earth and further highlights the connections between what is now Africa and South America.
The armored reptile resembles a dinosaur, but is actually the ancestor of modern crocodiles. Scientists named the creature Tynrakuazuh bellatorwhich is a mixture of Greek, Latin and the Brazilian Indian Guarani language, which means “crocodile warrior with sharp teeth”. The team presented their findings in a study published in the journal Journal of Systematic Paleontology November 13.
“His discovery helps shed light on a key moment in the history of life, the period that preceded the emergence of dinosaurs,” said the study's lead author. Rodrigo Tempe Mullerpaleontologist from the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil, says the statement.
During the Triassic period (252–201 million years ago) Archosaurs dominated the world of land vertebrates – the name means “ruling reptiles” – and are divided into two main groups. One group Ornithosuchiaturned into birds and dinosaurs, while others Pseudosuchiagave rise to crocodiles such as modern crocodiles.
T. Bellator belongs to pseudosuchians. It was about 7.9 feet (2.4 meters) long and weighed 130 pounds (60 kilograms). It had a long neck and a thin jaw full of sharp teeth. The researchers noted that very few of these types of pseudosuchians (called poposauroids) were found in South America.
The team found a partial skeleton T. Bellatorincluding the lower jaw, spine and pelvis, during excavations in May in the municipality of Dona Francisco in Brazil.
The reptile's back was covered with bony plates called osteoderms, which are also found in modern crocodiles.
“This animal was an active predator, but despite its relatively large size, it was far from the largest hunter of its time: giants up to seven meters in size lived in the same ecosystem. [23 feet] long,” said Müller, who led the team of paleontologists who excavated T. Bellator. “Despite the diversity of pseudosuchians, they remain poorly understood.” Fossils of some of their lineages, such as poposauroids, are “extremely rare” in the fossil record, he said.
T. Bellator is closely related to another individual found in Tanzania, he said. Mandasuchus tanyauhendiscovered in 1933, lived around 245 million years back when Africa and South America were part supercontinent Pangea.
“At that time, the continents were still united, which allowed organisms to spread freely across regions that are now separated by oceans,” Müller said. “As a result, the faunas of Brazil and Africa shared several elements, reflecting an intertwined evolutionary and ecological history.”
