Paleontologists have an approximate idea of the time when the first dinosaurs emerged. The oldest fossil remains lead to the Triassic era, about 250 million years ago. However, in terms of geographical origin, the panorama is uncertain. No one knows in which region the first dinosaur specimens emerged. A recent study by the University College of London (UCL) suggests that, to find them, scientists should look in Congo, the Sahara Desert and the Amazon in South America.
The party we arrived late
The oldest fingerprints of dinosaurs appeared in Brazil, Argentina and Zimbabue, but everything indicates that there was a previous displacement route with their respective evolutionary changes. With regard to the history of these creatures, it can be said that science has only managed to go back to a time when the party had already begun.
The UCL has proposed a new route of movement of the first dinosaurs to cover that information lagoon in paleontology. Through a movement model that took into account the first deposits, the geographical composition of the Triassic era, the characteristics of identified beings and fossils found at that time that cannot be classified, scientists found a probable area where they would have The first dinosaurs emerged.
According to its modeling, a western and equatorial region of warm climate in the Gondwana supercontinent is the key place. After millions of years, that site now covers the Amazon, the Congo basin and the Sahara desert. Paradoxically, the area stands out for its null fossil record of dinosaurs. The proposed model also coincides with important dinosaur findings in Europe, Asia and North America. According to the suggested route, the first species of the dinosaur clado extended to southern Gondwana and from there to Laurasia.
If science wants to find the first of the clado, you should explore these regions in Latin America and Africa, where research is scarce. “Until now, dinosaur fossils have not been found in the regions of Africa and South America that once formed this part of Gondwana. However, this could be due to the fact that researchers have not yet encountered the right rocks, due to a combination of inaccessibility and a relative lack of research efforts in these areas, ”said Joel Heath, principal author of the study published in Current Biology.
How were the first dinosaurs?
Before dinosaurs, the earth was dominated by creatures such as reptiles, tetropods (ancestors of the amphibians) and synapic (ancestors of current mammals). Like other current dominant species, the first dinosaurs were small and evolved from a pre -existing group. Paleontology supports the theory that come from arcosaurs, a group of reptiles from which crocodiles and pterosaurs also emerged.
In the fossil registry, Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus stand out, the first creatures identified bipedas of thin bodies and long legs. Their skulls were small and had sharp teeth due to their carnivorous or omnivorous diet. Herbivorous dinosaurs arrived later, with specialized bodies for food.
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