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News Release 17-035
Scientists discover fossil of dinosaur ancestor with surprising croc-like appearance
Finding reshapes scientists’ ideas about how early dinosaurs looked
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The creature named Teleocrater rhadinus is a carnivorous animal living more than 245 million years ago during the Triassic Period, before dinosaurs. Recently unearthed in southern Tanzania, the creature was approximately seven to 10 feet long, with a long neck and tail. The NSF-funded international team of scientists led by Virginia Tech was surprised to find that rather than walking on two legs, this creature walked on four legs like a crocodile!
Credit: NSF/Virginia Tech
A reconstruction of T. rhadinus feasting on a relative of early mammals.
Credit: Natural History Museum, London, artwork by Mark Witton
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The new species T. rhadinus hunting an early close relative of mammals.
Credit: Gabriel Lio
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An artist's rendering of T. rhadinus in its ancient habitat.
Credit: Gabriel Lio
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Reconstruction of the skeleton of T. rhadinus.
Credit: Scott Hartman
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Scientists excavate the remains of T. rhadinus and other animals in southern Tanzania.
Credit: Roger Smith
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Paleobiologist Sterling Nesbitt labeling plaster jackets containing the bones of T. rhadinus.
Credit: Roger Smith
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