Latest news with #Maleriraptor
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Science
- The Sun
New species of dog-sized killer dinosaur that roamed Earth 220m years ago discovered – but its name isn't too catchy
A NEW dog-sized dinosaur species that roamed the Earth 220 million years ago has been discovered. The Maleriraptor kuttyi is thought to be one of the earliest killer dinosaurs in history. 2 2 The now-extinct dinosaur is believed to have lived some 220 million years ago - during the Triassic period. The small but mighty beast could grow to a height of 3.2 feet and a length of 6.5 feet - about the size of a large-breed dog such as a Great Dane. And the creature was one of the earliest known carnivorous dinosaurs, along with the rest of the Herrerasauria family. Dr. Martín Ezcurra from the Argentina's Natural Science museum said: 'Herrerasaurs represent the oldest radiation of predatory dinosaurs.' The fossilised dinosaur bones were discovered more than in Telangana, India forty years ago. But only now have scientists identified exactly what species these bones belonged to. Herrerasauria fossils were previously found in South and North America. But the new bombshell discovery has proved that the creatures roamed far more of the Earth than previously thought. And the dinosaurs in India are believed to have outlived those elsewhere. Scientists believe this might be because India had a similar climate to South America during the Triassic period. This comes after a giant horned dinosaur species was unearthed in Egypt. The predatory dinosaur species, named Tameryraptor markgrafi, was originally discovered in 1914 by Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach who died in 1952. The 95million-year-old skeleton was excavated in the Bahariya Oasis in Egypt before it was stored in the Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology and Geology in Munich, Germany. But the remains were destroyed along with other Egyptian discoveries when Munich was bombed in World War Two. Tragically the only remnants of the dinosaur discovery were Dr Stromer's notes, illustrations of the bones and black and white photographs of the skeletons. But Dr Stromer's records have now been reanalysed in a new study. Maximilian Kellermann, the study's first author said: 'What we saw in the historical images surprised us all. "The Egyptian dinosaur fossil depicted there differs significantly from more recent Carcharodontosaurus found in Morocco.'
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Dinosaur that lived 220 million years ago, Maleriraptor kuttyi, discovered in India; revealing insights into prehistoric Earth
When a group of ancient bones were discovered in India many decades ago, few might have imagined how important they would prove to understanding . The small meat-eating dinosaur, Maleriraptor kuttyi, which lived 220 million years ago, is now providing crucial insights into how some of Earth's earliest dinosaurs survived and proliferated. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Its existence defies earlier theories regarding the extent and adaptability of early predatory organisms, particularly in the aftermath of mass extinctions, and underscores the role of geography and climate in controlling the distribution of these ancient beings. New dinosaur fossil discovery in India identifies Maleriraptor kuttyi as a Triassic-era survivour Maleriraptor kuttyi filled the Norian stage of the Late Triassic, a time when there was extreme ecological disturbance. The animal is now confirmed to be a member of Herrerasauria, one of the earliest groups of predatory dinosaurs known to have existed. Most notably, perhaps, the find constitutes the first definite presence of a species of herrerrasaur to survive one of the era's great mass extinctions during the Triassic period. This extinction event eliminated many tens of species of herbivores, among them the ubiquitous rhynchosaurs. Maleriraptor surviving this cataclysm speaks to its enormous ecological resilience and positions it as a vital component in the research into how some lineages survived the disasters and others did not. This discovery was reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science. Maleriraptor kuttyi discovery in India confirms herrerasaur existed beyond South America Prior to this study, only four herrerasaur species had been officially documented — all South American, from Brazil and Argentina. They were all slightly earlier, ranging between 233 and 229 million years ago, and measuring between 4 and 20 feet long. Like Maleriraptor, they too were bipedal hunters, equipped for speed and agility. Dr. Martín Ezcurra, also of the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences, the University of Birmingham, and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina, emphasised the importance of this discovery in expanding the herrerasaur's distribution. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Earlier, there had been suggestions of their presence outside South America — Chindesaurus bryansmalli of North America's Chinle Formation, for example — but the Indian one is firmer evidence. Maleriraptor kuttyi fossils reveal climate's role in species distribution Fossils of Maleriraptor kuttyi were initially discovered in the 1980s in the Pranhita-Godavari Valley of south-central India, near the village of Annaram. The region includes fossiliferous Norian-age beds — roughly a bit younger than the Carnian, during which the first dramatic diversification of dinosaurs occurred. Scientists speculate that during the Norian, the paleoclimate of India was much like that of southern North America. Climate similarity can be the explanation for the simultaneous development of some of the species within the two territories, such as phytosaurs, malerisaurine allokotosaurs, and now herrerasaurs. These species are absent, however, from the fossil record of southern South America, which suggests that geography and climate were a significant predictor of species distribution. Also Read |
