The oldest dinosaurs in South America were discovered in the interior of the Rio Grande do Sul

A severely degraded 11cm right femur is all that remains of the oldest dinosaurs found so far in South America, according to an article published March 1 in the scientific journal. Gondwana Research. The material was described by researchers from Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (Cappa-UFSM), in Rio Grande do Sul. The fossilized bone was discovered in the municipality of Dona Francesca, 60 kilometers from Santa Maria, and was part of the femur of a small, possibly bipedal, reptile that must have lived about 237 million years ago.

Scientific material

Muller, RT and GARCIA, MS The oldest dinosaur from South America and the early radiation of the dinosaur precursors in Gondwana. Gondwana Research. Fifth. 107, p. 42-8. July. 2022

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