(April 17, 2017 at 8:59 pm)Minimalist Wrote: http://www.heritagedaily.com/2017/04/sci...nce/114544
Quote:Scientists discover fossil of dinosaur ancestor with surprising croc-like appearance
Quote:The discovery of Teleocrater rhadinus, however, has forced scientists to reassess their ideas. Based on a fossil unearthed in southern Tanzania, these early relatives were carnivorous animals that measured approximately 7-10 feet long, with long necks and tails. Rather than walking on two legs, they walked on four crocodilian-like legs.
The finding, published today in the journal Nature, fills a gap in the fossil record.
“The research sheds light on the distribution and diversity of the ancestors of crocodiles, birds, and dinosaurs,” said Judy Skog, a program director in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research. “It indicates that dinosaur origins should be re-examined now that we know more about the complex history and traits of these early ancestors.”
T. rhadinus predated dinosaurs, living more than 245 million years ago during the Triassic Period. It shows up in the fossil record right after a large group of reptiles known as archosaurs split into a bird branch (leading to dinosaurs and eventually birds) and a crocodile branch (leading to alligators and crocodiles). T. rhadinus and its kin are the earliest known members of the bird branch of the archosaurs.
Who needs the fucking bible when we have science?
But is it a crocoduck? No! Checkmate Evilutionists1!1!!!!1
