Desert-dwelling carnivorous dinosaur that used its claws to capture small animals 90 million years ago is found in Brazil
- Fossil remains of the species known as Vespersaurus paranaensis were found by a team of palaeontologists
- Discovered hidden in the northeastern region of Parana which was once a desert
- Researchers say the dinosaur likely was ‘just over 1 m long’ and belongs to the same family as the T-Rex
A desert-based carnivorous dinosaur that used its claws to capture small prey 90 million years ago has been unearthed in southern Brazil.
Just over a five and a half feet (1.5metres) in length, the fossil remains of the Vespersaurus paranaensis were found by a team of palaeontologists.
The Vespersaurus was a theropod, a group of two-footed, meat-eating dinosaurs that included the better known tyrannosaurus and velociraptor.
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Just over a five and a half feet (1.5metres) in length, the fossil remains of the Vespersaurus paranaensis were found by a team of palaeontologists (pictured)
Fossil included the recovered skeletal parts (vertebrae, girdles, limbs, and scarce cranial elements) show that the new taxon was just over 1 m long, with a unique anatomy among theropods
The Vespersaurus, researchers said, was a theropod, a group of two-footed, meat-eating dinosaurs that included the better known tyrannosaurus and velociraptor
It is also thought that this new species first hinted at its presence in the 1970s, when footprints now believed to belong to the creature were discovered.
‘It’s incredible that, nearly 50 years later, it seems that we have discovered what type of dinosaur would have produced those enigmatic footprints,’ said Paulo Manzig of the Paleontology Museum of Cruzeiro do Oeste.
The researchers write in their paper: ‘The recovered skeletal parts (vertebrae, girdles, limbs, and scarce cranial elements) show that the new taxon was just over 1 m long, with a unique anatomy among theropods.’
They also found that despite having more than one toe, the dinosaur effectively bears its weight on a single digit.
The researchers write: ‘Such anatomical adaptation is formerly unrecorded among archosaurs, but has been previously inferred from footprints of the same stratigraphic unit that yielded the new dinosaur.’
The northeastern region of Parana was once a desert and the dinosaur’s remains suggest that the Vespersaurus was well adapted to that type of climate.
Other dinosaur species have been found there and, according to the scientists, the latest discovery must ‘catapult’ paleontological investigations in the region.
‘It is a rich but little explored area that would surely bring great news to the world of paleontology,’ said Neurides Martins of the Paleontology Museum of Cruzeiro do Oeste.
The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Detailed analysis of the bones dated it to around 90 million years ago and it is believed the anmal was a carnicore that used its claws as is primary weapon
Chunks of vertebrae and some ribs (pictured) were preserved in the rock and reveal the dinosaur’s anatomy. It is also thought that this new species first hinted at its presence in the 1970s, when footprints now believed to belong to the creature were discovered
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