230-Million-Year-Old Huayracursor: Complete Dinosaur Fossil Discovered in Argentina's Andes Mountains

Argentina:

Paleontologists in Argentina have uncovered the fossilized remains of one of Earth's earliest dinosaur species in the Andean mountain range, according to an announcement by the CONICET research organization on Wednesday.

The research team discovered an almost complete skeleton belonging to a small, long-necked reptile named Huayracursor Jaguensis at an elevation of 3,000 meters (9,842 feet) in northwestern Argentina.

This remarkable find includes portions of the creature's skull, a fully intact vertebral column extending to the tail, and nearly complete forelimbs and hindlimbs, CONICET reported.

The significant discovery was published in Nature magazine, with researchers suggesting it could provide valuable insights into dinosaur evolution.

According to Agustin Martinelli, one of the study's authors, the Huayracursor is believed to have existed between 230 and 225 million years ago, placing it among the world's oldest known dinosaur species.

This ancient creature lived during the late Triassic period, a crucial evolutionary time when the first dinosaurs and mammalian ancestors began to emerge, according to the research team.

Despite being part of a lineage that would eventually include massive long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs, the researchers noted that an adult Huayracursor Jaguensis was relatively small, measuring only about two meters in length and weighing approximately 18 kilograms (40 pounds).