Oldest sauropod species found

2003/10/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Paleontologia
• Arkeologia

In a South African university is the fossil of the ancestor of giant sauropods. The fossil was discovered in 1981, but was poorly classified. Paleontologist Adam Yates has become aware of the mistake and has called Antetonitrus ingenipes.

The fossil belongs to a dinosaur that lived 215 million years ago, and despite being the ancestor of the giant herbivorous sauropods that were reproduced in the Jurassic, its size was much smaller than its descendants, although it seems to be the largest animal of the late Triassic. It weighed about two tons.