By: Kingsley Wong

A dinosaur fossil estimated to be 233 million years old, potentially the oldest ever found, has been uncovered in Brazil. Remarkably, this discovery was made possible by heavy rainfall! The intense rains eroded sections of a known fossil site, exposing the dinosaur’s fossilized skeleton.

The almost entirely preserved dinosaur fossil was found beside a reservoir in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.

Scientists believe the dinosaur lived during the Triassic period, a time when all Earth’s continents were joined as a supercontinent called Pangea. This era spanned 50.5 million years and marked the emergence of dinosaurs.

Researchers think the fossil is from the Herrerasauridae family, a group of early carnivorous dinosaurs. These dinosaurs, which grew to about 2.5 meters in length and were bipedal, are significant for their role in understanding the origins of dinosaurs.

Rodrigo Müller from the Federal University of Santa Maria highlighted its importance, stating, “It’s among the oldest in the world.” Dr. Müller further noted, “It’s crucial for helping us understand the early evolution of dinosaurs.”

Brazil has experienced significant rainfall over the past few months. In June, the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where the fossil was found, received the equivalent of three months’ worth of rain in just two weeks.

Paleontologists are now working urgently to recover the remaining fossils from the region, as the newly exposed specimens are at risk of being damaged by further heavy rains. Already, a leg bone and a pelvis bone discovered at the site have been destroyed and swept away by the flooding. Hopefully, no more fossils get swept away by the intense torrential rain.