New dinosaur uncovered in Brazil
By Steve Kingstone
BBC Brazil correspondent

Scientists in Brazil say they have uncovered a new species of dinosaur.

The creature, identified from fossils, is thought to have lived more than
200 million years ago, making it one of the earliest dinosaurs known to
science.

The research team, from the University of Rio de Janeiro, says there are
strong similarities with its creature and remains discovered in Europe.

This lends weight to the view that the world's landmasses were once joined
as a single continent in Triassic times.

The fossilised remains were originally discovered in Agua Negra, near the
city of Santa Maria, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. They were
found by an elderly man out for walk.

His name was Tolentino Marafiga, so the new species has been named
Unaysaurus tolentinoi in his honour.

Based on the model of the dinosaur presented at the National Museum of Rio
de Janeiro, it would have weighed about 70kg, been 2.5m long and up to 70-80
cm high.

It was most like a herbivore, say the researchers. Dating work suggests it
lived during the Triassic Period, 225 million years ago.

What has intrigued the research team is the geography.

"Preliminary analysis shows that it is closely related to the European
Plateosaurus, principally found around Germany," said Atila da Rosa, one of
the researchers.

This support the hypothesis that the continental landmasses we know today
came out of a supercontinent scientists have dubbed Pangea.

And it suggests that dinosaurs of similar species were dispersed over vast
areas.

Full Text from BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4064429.stm

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
---
þ RIMEGate(tm)/RGXPost V1.14 at BBSWORLD * Info{at}bbsworld.com

---
 * RIMEGate(tm)V10.2áÿ* RelayNet(tm) NNTP Gateway * MoonDog BBS
 * RgateImp.MoonDog.BBS at 12/6/04 6:36:09 AM