fossil of pterosaur ancestors discovered in Rio Grande do Sul; To look

A team of Brazilian paleontologists has made an incredible discovery at an archaeological site in João de Polêsine, in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul: the most complete fossil of an ancestor of the classical pterosaur. The discovery may provide further answers to some evolutionary mysteries about the ancestors of pterosaurs, the scientists say.

A team of paleontologists has discovered the fossilized remains of the dinosaur species Venetoraptor gassenae, according to a study published in the scientific journal Nature. The animal is part of Pterosaurmorpha, a family that also includes pterosaur. – I mean, relatives, like cousins.

The scientists explain that the fossil was found embedded in a layer of rock and therefore very well preserved. Until then, no one had found such complete remains, including the Brazilian paleontologists who named the dinosaur Venetoraptor gassenae; The reptilian was a bipedal creature with four legs and was not more than a meter tall. Also, unlike the pterosaur, it did not fly.

“The findings show that lagerpetids are as morphologically diverse as Triassic pterosaurs and more morphologically more diverse than Triassic dinosaurs. This implies that such diversity has already begun to evolve in the dinosaur and pterosaur predecessors and is not something that only emerged after the origin of these two groups,” he explains. study.

Fossil of a pterosaur ancestor

The prehistoric animal is estimated to be 230 million years old and belongs to the lagerpetid family., a type of reptile that scientists think are just rabbit-like jumpers. The study suggests that perhaps this is not entirely true, and that these animals dispersed, making it possible for other species, such as the pterosaur, to diversify.

The remains were discovered at the Buriol site in the municipality of São João de Polêsine in Santa Maria in Rio Grande do Sul. The area has been studied by paleontologists for decades and is even considered one of the sites where some have been found. the oldest discovered in recent years.

“The idea that they were all jumpers and pointers came from the description of the fossil Lagerpeton, but now we see a greater diversity with these special claws, with these special claws for one thing, we don’t know if it’s for climbing trees, we believe it is,” said the study’s author and Quarta Colônia He is a paleontologist, Rodrigo Müller, director of the Paleontological Research Support Center (Cappa), told the newspaper. Newspaper.

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