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Brazil unearths fossil of ancient reptile species

Xinhua, March 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

Fossil remains of a previously-unknown reptile species that lived around 250 million years ago have been unearthed in south Brazil, local media reported on Friday.

A well-preserved skull was discovered by an international research team of scientists from Britain and Brazil earlier this year in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, near the border with Argentina and Uruguay.

The new species was named "Teyujagua paradoxa," which means "fierce lizard" in the language of the Guarani ethnic group, native to South Brazil, according to news portal G1.

Studies showed the ancient species grew to be 1.5 meters in length. It had eyes on the top of its skull and nostrils placed on the upper part of the snout, similar to modern crocodiles. Its teeth were sharply pointed and recurved with fine serrations, indicating a carnivorous diet.

It lived in the margins of lakes and rivers and hunted amphibians and lizard-like creatures.

Researchers believe the discovery of the transitional species could provide new insights into the origin of archosauriforms, a group that spawned the already extinct dinosaurs and pterousaurs and today's crocodiles and birds. Endi