Though fossilist have been discussing the origin and spread of dinosaur for decades , the widely accept theory was that they egress in the southern part of the ancient continent of Pangaea over 200 million yr ago , and only spread northward millions of years by and by . A novel study dramatically changes the conversation .
University of Wisconsin – Madison ( UW – Madison ) paleontologists foretell the discovery of a new dinosaur that challenges the ceremonious theory about the dinosaurs ’ origin and spread . The fix and years of the newly - described fossils hint that dinosaur prowl the northerly regions of Pangea millions of days in the first place than antecedently theorise . The findings were detailed in a January 8studypublished in theZoological Journal of the Linnean Society .
“ We ’re kind of fill in some of this story , and we ’re showing that the musical theme that we ’ve held for so long — ideas that were supported by the disconnected grounds that we had — were n’t quite correct , ” Dave Lovelace of the University of Wisconsin Geology Museum , who co - leave the study , said in a UW – Madisonstatement . “ We now have this piece of evidence that shows dinosaurs were here in the northerly hemisphere much in the beginning than we think . ”
An artist’s rendering of the Ahvaytum bahndooiveche.© Gabriel Ugueto
The paleontologist uncover the theory - defying fossil in present - day Wyoming in 2013 . Due to Earth ’s shifting tectonic plate , this neighborhood was located near the equator over 200 million years ago on Laurasia , the northerly one-half of Pangea ( the southerly one-half was called Gondwana ) . While the remains were fragmentize , the paleontologists were able to attribute the fossils to a Modern dinosaur species they namedAhvaytum bahndooiveche , which was likely an earlysauropodrelative . Ahvaytum , however , looked very different from the iconic long - necked herbivores .
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“ It was basically the size of a chicken but with a really long tail , ” said Lovelace . “ We think of dinosaurs as these giant behemoths , but they did n’t start out that way . ” The adult specimen was just over a foot tall ( 30.5 centimeters ) and about three feet long ( 91.4 cm ) .
Perhaps most shockingly , however , is the age of the fossil . Lovelace and his co-worker used radioisotopic dating ( a method for determine the years of materials by quantify radioactive decay ) to regulate that the rock layers where they ’d recover theAhvaytumfossils — and thus roughly the remains themselves — were about 230 million eld onetime . This makesAhvaytumthe oldest known Laurasian dinosaur , and about combining weight in geezerhood to the earliest known Gondwanan dinosaur , concord to the study . dinosaur first come forth during the Triassic geological period , around 230 million years ago . This geological era , which lasted from about 252 to 201 million geezerhood ago , escort the rise of the earliest dinos , before they became dominant in the Jurassic period .
“ We have , with these fossils , the onetime equatorial dinosaur in the world — it ’s also North America ’s oldest dinosaur , ” Lovelace tally . The fact that the oldest known Laurasian dinosaur is about as old as the earliest known Gondwanan dinosaurs consequently challenges the theory that dinosaurs originated in the S of the ancient continent and only spread north millions of geezerhood afterwards .
The site of the discovery is within the ancestral ground of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe . As a result , the researcher partner with tribal member throughout their workplace , and include Eastern Shoshone elder and midway school educatee in choosing the newfangled dinosaur ’s name . Ahvaytumbahndooivecheroughly translates to “ long ago dinosaur ” in the easterly Shoshone oral communication .
The neighborhood also yielded extra finds . The team identify an other dinosaur - like footprint in older stone layers , intend that dinosaurs or dinosaur - related creature were calling Laurasia home even beforeAhvaytum . The paleontologists also uncovered the dodo of anewly described amphibian , which was also appoint in the Eastern Shoshone linguistic process .
In challenge long - standing theories about how dinosaur spread across Pangea , the find of the poulet - sizedAhvaytumultimately paints a clear picture of the puppet that walked the Earth — and where — millions of years before us .
dinosaursfossilsPaleontology
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