2023-08-23 14:45:33
Approximately 160 million years ago, during the Mesozoic period, the skies of Earth were ruled by pterosaurs, also known as flying reptiles. At least it was like that until its total disappearance, about 66 million years ago.
Although much was known about its extinction, its origin was an enigma, since there were almost no fossil records of its precursors. However, the discovery of a skeleton in rocks from 230 million years ago in southern Brazil, by Argentine and Brazilian paleontologists, offers information on the evolution of this species and also of dinosaurs. The species has been named Venetoraptor.
“Rocks from the Triassic in Brazil and Argentina provided an extraordinary variety of fossils, including fairly complete skeletons of the precursors of mammals, crocodiles, and dinosaurs. The discovery of Venetoraptor clarifies the origins of Pterosauria, the group of reptiles that conquered the air during most of the Mesozoic Era,” explained Fernando Novas, a researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) at the presentation of the finding. recently made at the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences Bernardino Rivadavia (MACN) of CONICET.
Martín Ezcurra, a paleontologist at the MACN and co-author of the study, assured the CTyS-UNLaM Agency that “this type of publication is extremely important for Argentine science, because very few works are published in such high-profile journals.” impact”. “In addition, it demonstrates the knowledge and integration with working groups from different countries that we are achieving from Argentine science,” added the scientist, a member of the Argentine Paleontological Association (APA).
The main problem with pterosaurs is the scant fossil record of their precursors, since most of these remains are fragmentary, incomplete, and poorly preserved. Also, because pterosaurs are highly modified animals, it is difficult to tell which other groups of reptiles they are related to.
“Venetoraptor is the kind of paradigm-shifting discovery. Looking at its unexpected appearance, it is impossible not to think about all the hidden diversity waiting to be discovered,” said Rodrigo Temp Müller, a researcher at the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil.
With the analysis of Venetoraptor, the researchers concluded that the ancestors of pterosaurs and dinosaurs were highly varied in terms of their anatomical adaptations, behaviors, and ways of life, something that was unknown prior to this discovery.
The new reptile has an unexpected set of features, including a raptor-like beak, which predates that of the dinosaurs by about 80 million years, and enlarged hands with sharp claws. The typical adult individual of this species was around one meter long and weighed between four and eight kilograms.
Reconstruction of the skeleton of Venetoraptor gassenae carried out by Santiago Miner (LACEV). (Photo: CONICET Press)
The researchers noted that the present study challenges traditional ideas that the diversity of this reptile lineage flourished only after the origin of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. “We used computational analyzes with a large data set to test this hypothesis,” said Martín Ezcurra.
For his part, Federico Agnolin, a CONICET researcher and one of the authors of the study, mentioned to the CTyS Agency: “What this animal shows us is that we still know practically nothing about the diversity of reptiles that existed so long ago. It is the first time that a relatively complete skeleton of a group of reptiles that lived all over the world has appeared.
In addition, the also member of APA pointed out that, “now, we can complete the puzzle with the Venetoraptor. And we are sure that South America has many surprises to give us regarding the origin of the different groups of animals”.
The authors of the study assured that a great diversity of reptiles ancestral to dinosaurs and pterosaurs is just beginning to be documented, and the findings made in Brazil and Argentina occupy a place of enormous relevance.
The name of the new species refers to “Vale Vêneto”, a locality close to the find site, and “raptor”, which means looter in Latin, and alludes to its raptorial beak and prehensile hands. Venetoraptor was discovered in 2022 by Temp Müller, the main author of the scientific work.
The discovered species belongs to a group of extinct animals called Lagerpetidae, whose fossils were originally found near the Puerta de Talampaya, in rocks from the Triassic Period, in the Talampaya National Park, La Rioja Province, Argentina.
In addition, experts have detailed that this flying reptile stood on two hind legs while the front limbs were used to catch prey or climb trees. (Source: Agustina Lima (CTyS-UNLaM Agency))
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