A new genus and species of a large wind dragon that lived about 218 million years ago has been described from a large portion of its carapace discovered in Texas, USA.
Aitosaurus is an extinct quadrupedal heavily armored reptile aetosaurs.
Their name means “eagle lizard” and comes from the fact that their skull resembles that of a bird.
These creatures could reach lengths of up to 6 m (20 ft) and were geographically widespread during the Late Triassic.
“Aetosaurs are a group of quadrupedal armored reptiles whose terrestrial ecology is inferred to include both herbivory and omnivory,” said a paleontologist at the University of Texas at Austin. William Reyes and his colleagues.
“They have achieved a nearly global geographic distribution, but are stratigraphically restricted to the Late Triassic.”
“Most species of wind dragons reach a total length of 2 to 6 meters (6.6 to 20 feet).”
dubbing Garsapelta Murerithe newly identified species grew up to 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long.
This extinct animal lived in what is now the United States during the Middle Triassic period, about 218 million years ago.
Hypothetical reconstruction of Garsapelta Mureri: (a) Carapace seen from the back, and (bf) cross-sectional view of the carapace seen from the back. Cross-sectional views of (b) posterior neck and anterior trunk, (c) mid-trunk, (d) posterior trunk and sacrum, (e) anterior caudal region, and (f) mid-caudal region. Arrows indicate anatomical direction. A – Anterior, D – Dorsal, L – Lateral, M – Medial. Image credit: Jeffrey Martz / Reyes other., doi: 10.1002/ar.25379.
Its fossilized skeleton was discovered. Cooper canyon formation Located in Garza County, Texas.
It was recovered with an associated carapace containing elements of both the left and right sides of the body.
The discovery of Garsapelta Mureri “This provides new insights into interspecific variation in the carapace of etosaurs,” the paleontologists said.
“It is clear that the morphology of the lateral osteoderm determines the final topological position of the bone. Garsapelta Murerirecover it as a sister taxon of . Desmatostini”
“The similarities between the two are Garsapelta Mureri, Rioaribascus chamensisand the paratipothrasin The discoveries from Colorado's Eagle Basin indicate a biostratigraphic range that we believe is probably limited to Revuelto's putative holochronozone (215 to 207 million years ago), but It suggests that we are working on the emergence of a new group of wind dragons that may be just as old. The latest Adamanian. ”
team's paper appear in anatomical records.
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William A. Reyes other. Garsapelta Mureri generation. Such. In November, a new species of wind dragon (archosaur: pseudosaur) was discovered in the middle Cooper Canyon Formation of the late Triassic (middle Norian) in the Dokum Group, Texas, USA, and the morphological characteristics of the wind dragon's carapace. its impact on our understanding of difference; anatomical records, published online on January 11, 2024. doi: 10.1002/ar.25379
Source: www.sci.news
