New Dog-Sized Dino Discovered

Experts have recently discovered a very old dinosaur that is not only the first named dinosaur fossil to be discovered in Venezuela, but also in all of northern South America. It also provides some new clues about what happened after the Triassic extinction, the first of two major dinosaur extinction events.

A study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B describes the discovery of the aptly named Laquintasaura venezuelae.

A small dinosaur no larger than a meter, the L. venezuaelae has been identified as an early member of the ornithischians - bird hipped dinosaurs that include herbivore species such as the iconic stegosaurus and triceratops.

"It was probably largely herbivorous, but its slightly curved and elongated teeth hint at occasional omnivory," lead author Paul Barret explained to Discovery News. "The teeth are the most distinctive feature of the new dinosaur, as their elongated, curved outline and striated surfaces are unique."

Barret suspects that this dog-sized dino foraged for ferns and insects, suggesting that Venezuela supported a richer ecosystem than was previous thought.

"There are many surprising firsts with Laquintasaura," Barrett added. "Not only does it expand the distribution of early dinosaurs, its age makes it important for understanding their early evolution and behavior."

Dating back to 200 million years ago, L. venezuaelae is one of the oldest fossils of species which lived at the start of the Jurassic period - just after the Triassic extinction, an event that is suspected to have wiped out nearly half of all species who had been roaming the Earth.

"In many ways, this extinction was a major help to dinosaurs, as it killed off a number of other reptile groups that might have been competitors," Barrett told Live Science. "Laquintasaura is known only 500,000 years after the extinction, and shows that ornithischians were quick off the mark during this recovery period."

It was this quick recovery that helped dinosaurs ascend to being the kings of prehistory that we picture today, and L. venezuaelae helps paleontologists better understand how this occurred.