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New Triassic species Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda found in Tanzania reshapes dinosaur origins timeline

A University of Bristol-led team identifies a 240-million-year-old synapsid in Tanzania that links African and South American fossil beds and suggests earlier 'oldest dinosaur' claims are too old.

newest coverage 5d agosummary written 7d ago8 pieces NewswiresGoogle NewsMastodon

What to know

  • A new Triassic synapsid, Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda, was identified from decades-old Tanzanian fossils held at the Natural History Museum, London.
  • It is the first confirmed record of the genus Dinodontosaurus outside South America, allowing direct correlation of Tanzanian and South American rock ages.
  • Combined with radiometric dating showing South American beds are up to 10 million years younger than related South African rocks, the find implies Tanzania's supposed oldest dinosaur fossils are actually younger than previously claimed.
  • The study, published September 15 in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, could prompt reconsideration of both the timing and geography of the earliest dinosaurs.

Hady George PhD student, University of Bristol; lead authorUniversity of Bristol Lead research institutionNatural History Museum, London Fossil repository

New Triassic species Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda found in Tanzania reshapes dinosaur origins timeline
Science Daily

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 5 pieces in two hours at Sep 15, 6 PM; 8 pieces over 8 days (7 articles · 1 post) Sep 15, 6 PM — 5 pieces · 5 articles — Google News 4, Newswires 1Sep 15, 8 PM — quietSep 15, 10 PM — quietSep 16, 12 AM — quietSep 16, 2 AM — quietSep 16, 4 AM — quietSep 16, 6 AM — quietSep 16, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 16, 10 AM — quietSep 16, 12 PM — quietSep 16, 2 PM — quietSep 16, 4 PM — quietSep 16, 6 PM — quietSep 16, 8 PM — quietSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 12 AM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 17, 4 AM — quietSep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quiet 12
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  1. 2

    Science social media accounts pick up the Science Daily report

    Accounts such as a Mastodon science-news poster reshared the Science Daily summary of the find, amplifying the framing that the fossil forces a rethink of the early dinosaur timeline.

  2. 1

    Discovery links Tanzanian and South American fossil beds, undercutting oldest-dinosaur claims

    Because Dinodontosaurus was previously known only from South America, its presence in Tanzania lets researchers correlate the two regions' rock sequences; combined with recent radiometric dating showing South American beds are up to 10 million years younger than South African ones, this suggests the Tanzanian deposits are not evidence for the earliest possible dinosaurs after all.

    “Our discovery marks the first confirmed record of the genus Dinodontosaurus outside South America. The finding links the Tanzanian and South American fossil-bearing rocks, showing they are of equivalent age.”
    — Hady George
    1. 1 outlet Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda: 240-million-year-old fossil from Tanzania

      first by bbc.co.uk, 5d ago

    2. 1 outlet A 240-million-year-old fossil just changed the dinosaur timeline

      first by Science Daily, 7d ago

  3. background

    Team names new species Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda from Tanzania — An international team led by the University of Bristol described a new synapsid species from a 1963-collected skeleton and a more recently found fragmentary skull, publishing the findings in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 3 outlets New species of 240-million-year-old prehistoric animal from Tanzania discovered; it could tell us more...

    first by Moneycontrol.com, 8d ago · also Inshorts, Taylor & Francis Newsroom

    3 more headlines