<-! sbefore ->

Experts examine the remains of a previously unknown reptiles. According to their assumptions, this species may live in the world with 250 million years ago.

An international team of scientists from three of Brazil and the UK discovered a new species of fossil reptiles that I lived on Earth 250 million years ago, while there was no dinosaurs. The remains were found in the most remote southern Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. A fossilized skull is well preserved, allowing to identify the animal as «Teyujagua paradoxa», writes Ghhauto.ru.

fossil remains were discovered in the early 2015 in the Triassic rocks near the town of San Francisco de Asis paleobiological researchers from the laboratory of the Federal University of Pampa. The results were published recently in the «Scientific Reports» magazine. The amazing discovery helps to understand the initial evolution of reptile group from which later came the dinosaurs, pterosaurs (flying reptiles), as well as modern crocodiles.

The name «Teyujagua» was taken from the language of the South American Guarani Indians and means “fierce lizard” . The idea is related to the mythological animal Teyú Yaguá, which is usually depicted as a lizard with a dog’s head. Teyujagua differs significantly from other resources of the same age. This discovery fills a gap in the evolutionary tree of reptiles. His appearance takes a transitional position between more primitive reptiles and a large group called archosauriforms, including all the extinct dinosaurs, along with modern crocodiles.

For scientists, this finding is of great importance, since this reptile lived after Permo-Triassic catastrophe which occurred 252 million years ago. Giant volcanic eruptions in the eastern part of present-day Russia in those days, destroyed about 90% of all species living on Earth.

Teyujagua gives a new idea of ​​how, after mass extinctions on land recovered and became the new develop ecosystem as survivors groups have been able to expand its size and diversity. It is known that archosauriforms and their close relatives, such as Teyujagua, were the dominant animals on the planet and the ancestors of the dinosaurs.

«fierce lizard” was a relatively small four-legged creature reaches a length of about 1.5 meters. He had bent his teeth with small teeth that is a clear sign of distemper. The nostrils are on the top of the muzzle – a typical feature of some aquatic animals and amphibians, such as modern crocodiles. Ancient reptiles probably lived near rivers and lakes, hunted extinct amphibians and reptiles procolophonids