Polish researchers have discovered another species of primates, Etosaurs, similar to today’s crocodiles, in the southwestern part of the country. The bone of the first carnivorous dinosaur was found at the Kokkori site in present-day Poland. It was discovered early in 1932, but was forgotten for nearly a century, until researchers at the University of Warsaw returned to the site in 2012.
Prehistoric reptile remains have been found at a fossil reptile site near the city of Kokkori among other 210 million-year-old vertebrate fossils, including lungfishes and turtles, and researchers at the Institute of Paleontology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Department of Biology of the University of Warsaw .
Scientists found a jawbone and bits of the Kocurypelta silvestris shield.
The newly discovered species of aetosaurus have few protruding teeth.
„Aetosaurus had very few teeth, and they also turned to the front of the skull. This characteristic is unknown to other aetosaurids whose jaws are filled with teethLucas Chipinski, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Warsaw, told the PAP news agency.
Etosaurs are closely related to today’s crocodiles. Their bodies were covered in shields, and their skulls ended with a mouth that resembled the muzzle of a wild boar. They looked like a mixture of crocodile, tattoo, and wild boar, and were about three feet tall. Most of the species were carnivores, the scientist said, and their diets included plants, smaller vertebrates, and thick roots.
The bone of the first carnivorous dinosaur was found at the Kokkori site in present-day Poland. It was discovered early in 1932, but was forgotten for nearly a century, until researchers at the University of Warsaw returned to the site in 2012.
In addition to discovering the hitherto unknown species of aetosaurus, Polish researchers in Kokori have found fossils of a late Triassic vertebrate, including the remains of the shield of one of the world’s oldest turtles and the dentures of a large lungfish. All the animals here lived at the same time.
Cover photo illustration.
