Post by jaron.aharoni on Aug 13, 2020 12:38:00 GMT -5
Just an excerpt from the article:
New dinosaur discovery in Switzerland fills a gap in evolutionary history of sauropods
The sauropodomorphs were among the first dinosaurs to exist during the late Triassic period, from about 230 million years ago. During this time, dinosaurs weren’t yet the dominant group of animals on Earth and had to share the world with, among others, crocodile-like reptiles called phytosaurs and mammal-like reptiles, such as Morganucodon.
Towards the end of the Triassic and in the earliest Jurassic, environmental changes led to the evolution of larger, more immediate predecessors of sauropods. These dinosaurs were larger, had longer necks, ate only plants and, more importantly, walked on all fours due to their size. These transitional species include Pulanesaura from around 190 million years ago in what is now South Africa, and Leonerasaurus from a similar time in what is now South America.
Our new dinosaur, which we have named Schleitheimia, falls into this category. Some of its bones were first found in Switzerland as early as 1915. Others had been found in Hallau, near Zurich, in the 1940s, and others from the same geological layer had been discovered in Schleitheim, also near Zurich, in the 1950s. But for years, these fossils were thought to belong to an earlier, sauropodomorph species.
Our new dinosaur, which we have named Schleitheimia, falls into this category. Some of its bones were first found in Switzerland as early as 1915. Others had been found in Hallau, near Zurich, in the 1940s, and others from the same geological layer had been discovered in Schleitheim, also near Zurich, in the 1950s. But for years, these fossils were thought to belong to an earlier, sauropodomorph species.
