New prehistoric herbivore species discovered in Tanzania

They weren't pretty, the newly described prehistoric four-legged creatures that once trudged through what is now Tanzania. But they could be central to understanding the dinosaur story.

Dar es Salaam/Bristol. Beaks with spike-like tusks and feet armed with claws: Researchers have described a previously unknown ancient herbivore species from what is now Tanzania. The species found in the southwest of the country called Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda lived around 240 million years ago, i.e. in the early days of the dinosaurs, as the international team led by Hady George from the English University of Bristol writes in the “Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology”.

The herbivore was just over two meters long and weighed around 200 kilograms, first author George told the German Press Agency. Until now, Dinodontosaurus species were only known from South America, the group writes.

Discussion about oldest potential dinosaur fossils

Controversial fossils were also discovered in the layer, which may be among the oldest dinosaurs in the world. If these finds actually represent dinosaurs, they would be several million years younger than previously assumed, as the team explains. This means that they can no longer be considered the oldest potential dinosaur fossils, it was said.

However, the authors emphasize that the assignment of individual bones is not completely certain in all cases. The cache examined could contain remains of several individuals and possibly several closely related species, it said.

The remains come from the so-called Manda Beds in southern Tanzania. The fossils had already been discovered during an expedition in 1963, but have only now been comprehensively examined.