This fossil is not only the first of its kind, but also the earliest known diplodocoid found in the world.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology have discovered the remains of a new species of herbivorous dinosaur on the shores of the former Tethys Ocean. This was reported by IFLScience.
Scientists have given the name to the newly discovered species – Tharosaurus indicus. According to the analysis, T. indicus has elongated depressions on the lateral surface of the cervical bones, they have nerve processes.
These features lead researchers to speculate about the possible early existence of spines similar to those that adorned Bajadasaurus pronuspinax, another member of the Dicraeosauridae series. The surface of the frontal vertebra is also observed in the ancient animal, which is located at the end of the tail and resembles a heart in shape.
It is believed that sauropods appeared at some point in the late Triassic or early Jurassic, but the origin of neosauropods, which include diplodocoids, is still unknown and rather controversial. However, a new spiny dinosaur may help solve this issue.
Considering T. indicus in the context of other Indian Jurassic sauropods, the researchers proposed that it was a remnant of a line of these animals that arose in India, which then settled in the rest of the Pangea supercontinent in that time. About 300-200 million years ago, the continents of North America, Africa, South America and Europe were one large dry land.
The remains were found in the Thar Desert, near the city of Jaisalmer in the state of Rajasthan. During a period that lasted from 252 to 66 million years ago, this area was the coast of the Tethys Ocean.
Scientists believe that this area may have played an important role in the emergence of neosauropods, a subgroup of sauropods that also had long necks and ate plants.
It was previously reported that in the English Channel on the Isle of Wight, England, scientists found the fossilized remains of a previously unknown species of armored dinosaur.
Source: korrespondent
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