New prehistoric species found in Tanzania challenges dinosaur history

An international team led by Hady George from the University of Bristol discovered a new prehistoric species in Tanzania, a herbivore named Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda that lived around 240 million years ago. The creature, measuring over two meters long and weighing about 200 kilograms, possessed a beak, tusks, and claws. Researchers had originally unearthed the fossils during a 1963 British expedition, but the specimens remained at the Natural History Museum in London until recently, when they underwent detailed study.

This discovery may change understandings of dinosaur evolution. Previously, Dinodontosaurus fossils were only known from Brazil and Argentina. The Tanzanian rock layers where the fossils were found appear to be the same age as those in South America, suggesting they are younger than previously believed. The same layers also contain fossils that could be the world’s oldest dinosaurs, leading scientists to reconsider when and where dinosaurs first evolved.

Researchers caution that not all bones can be definitively assigned to this new species, as the site may hold remains from multiple, closely related animals.