A new species of phytosaur, a crocodile-like reptile that lived more than 215 million years ago, has been discovered in Greenland’s Jameson Land, a study published Tuesday reveals.
According to a statement issued by the authors, the fossil, now identified as the species “Mystriosuchus alleroq”, was discovered by paleontologists from Portugal, Denmark and Germany in 2012, in one of the expeditions carried out in eastern Greenland, a region that has been explored. by paleontologists since the early 19th century.
According to Octávio Mateus, professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT) of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) and one of the researchers who made the find, the fossil was found in a “a site that contained at least four phytosaurs in a single layer of bones, which is rare and spectacular”.
Phytosaurs lived like crocodiles in the Triassic, on almost every continent, but despite the similarities, the reptiles do not belong to the same reptile family.
According to Víctor López-Rojas, PhD student at the NOVA University of Lisbon and first author of the study, phytosaurs are distinguished from other reptiles by their “nose drawn back towards the back of the skull, near the eyes”.
By analyzing the remains of the four individuals found, including babies, juveniles, and mature adults, the researchers were able to compare them with other phytosaurs to identify them as a new species and understand their ontogeny.
In addition to Víctor López-Rojas and Octávio Mateus, the authors of the study are Jesper Milàn (Geomuseum Faxe), Lars B. Clemmensen (University of Copenhagen), Nicole Klein (University of Bonn) and Oliver Wings (Bamberg Natural History Museum). .
A specimen was prepared in Germany and at the Museu da Lourinhã, in Portugal, and can be seen at the Portuguese museum and the GeoCenter MonsKlint, in Denmark.
Source: Observadora
