Argentinian scientists find one of the world’s oldest dinosaur species in the Andes Mountains

Argentinian scientists have unearthed fossilised remains from one of the world’s oldest dinosaur species in the Andes Mountains, the CONICET research agency said on Wednesday.

Huayracursor jaguensis discovery in the Andes Mountains

A palaeontological team from the institute recovered an almost complete skeleton of the small, long-necked reptile, Huayracursor jaguensis, at an elevation of 3,000 metres in north-western Argentina.

CONICET said the remains include part of the dinosaur’s skull, a full vertebral column running through to the tail, and forelimbs and hindlimbs that are nearly complete.

The findings were published in Nature magazine, where the authors said the discovery may contribute to research into evolution.

One of the world’s oldest dinosaur species

Agustin Martinelli, one of the paper’s authors, said Huayracursor is thought to have lived between 230 and 225 million years ago, placing it among the oldest dinosaurs in the world.

Researchers said the species existed towards the close of the Triassic period, when the earliest dinosaurs and the ancestors of mammals were beginning to emerge.

Although it belonged to a line of herbivorous dinosaurs that later included enormous long-necked animals, the researchers said an adult Huayracursor jaguensis measured only around two metres long and weighed approximately 18 kilograms.

© Agence France-Presse