New dinosaur species found in Brazil, roamed earth 70 million years ago

A team of scientists have found a new species of dinosaur which most likely roamed in Brazil around 70 million years ago.

(Image courtesy: Júlia d’Oliveira/sci-news.com)

In a startling discovery, scientists recently discovered a new dinosaur species in Brazil which most likely roamed the southeast part of America around 70 million years ago. The fossils of the species was unearthed in Brazil by a team of paleontologists.

A team of paleontologists found the remains of the new species, dubbed as 'Kurupi itaata', in Monte Alto, Brazil. This location has been one of the richest areas for dinosaur discoveries yet. 

“Kurupi itaata represents the first named tetrapod dinosaur for the Marília Formation (Bauru Group), a geological unit that occurs on São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, and Mato Grosso do Sul states, Brazil,” Dr Fabiano Vidoi Iori from the Museu de Paleontologia and the Museu de Paleontologia and his colleagues told sci-news.com.

The new species has been described in a Journal of South American Earth Sciences as a type of abelisaurid, which is a group of bipedal predators that thrived on the ancient southern supercontinent Gondwana. The remains suggest that the species was 16-feet-long. 

The researchers also examined three caudal vertebrae and a partial pelvic girdle in the remains. Its muscle attachments and bone anatomy suggested that it was well adapted to running.

As per reports, a model of the Kurupi Itaata will be on display at Monte Alto's Museum of Paleontology soon.