Scientists discover fossil of pre-dinosaur reptile in Brazil

The Gondwanax paraisensis was a small, four-legged reptile, roughly the size of a small dog. It measured about 1 meter long and weighed between 3 to 6 kg.

Scientists have found a fossil in southern Brazil that could help explain how dinosaurs first appeared. The fossil, from a newly discovered reptile species called Gondwanax paraisensis, is about 237 million years old, making it one of the oldest reptile fossils ever found.

The Gondwanax paraisensis was a small, four-legged reptile, roughly the size of a small dog. It measured about 1 meter (39 inches) long and weighed between 3 to 6 kg (7 to 13 pounds). This reptile likely lived in what is now southern Brazil during the Triassic period, a time when the Earth was much hotter.

The fossil belongs to a group of extinct reptiles called silesaurids. Scientists are still debating whether silesaurids were true dinosaurs or a species that came before them. Studying this new species could help us understand what traits made dinosaurs so successful.

The fossil was originally discovered in 2014 by Pedro Lucas Porcela Aurelio, a doctor in Paraiso do Sul, a town in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state. He donated it to a university in 2021, starting three years of research.

“Touching something that’s 237 million years old is an indescribable feeling,” said Aurelio, a long-time fan of paleontology.

The discovery was published in the journal Gondwana Research last month. According to Müller, the fossil’s age is key. “Because it’s so old, it helps us understand how dinosaurs first appeared,” he said.

The name Gondwanax means “lord of Gondwana,” referring to the southern part of the supercontinent Pangaea. The species name paraisensis honors the town of Paraiso do Sul where the fossil was found.

In a major turn of events, scientists in Brazil announced a ground-breaking discovery of one of the world’s oldest fossils.

As per Reuters, these fossils are believed to belong to an ancient reptile that dates back some 237 million years.

The reptile named Gondwanax paraisensis, the four-legged reptile species was approximately the size of a small dog with a long tail, or about 1 meter (39 inches) long and weighing between 3 and 6 kg (7 to 13 pounds).

Scientists said in a statement, “Understanding the characteristics of these precursors could shed light on what was crucial for the dinosaurs’ evolutionary success.”

The fossils have been identified as a new silesaurid, an extinct family of Triassic dinosauriforms.

It is most commonly considered to be a clade of non-dinosaur dinosauriforms, and the sister group of dinosaurs.

Physician Pedro Lucas Porcela Aurelio found the fossil in the town of Paraiso do Sul in Brazil’s southernmost Rio Grande do Sul state in 2014 and then donated it to a local university.

He said, “Being the first human to touch something from 237 million years ago is extraordinary. It’s an indescribable feeling.”

This discovery is detailed in paleontologist Rodrigo Temp Müller’s article, which was published last month in the scientific journal Gondwana Research.

With Thanks Reference to:https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/scientists-discover-fossil-pre-dinosaur-reptile-brazil-9620269/ and https://jang.com.pk/en/22885-brazilian-scientists-uncover-ancient-reptile-fossil-from-237-million-years-ago-news