Rio de Janeiro: A team of paleontologists from the Federal University of Santa Maria spent four days excavating the fossil to remove a block of rock containing an “almost complete” dinosaur fossil.
Initial findings determined that the fossil was a specimen of the family Herrerasauridae, which were bipedal carnivores with long tails found in what is now Brazil and Argentina.
The fossil is from the Triassic period, 250 to 200 million years ago.
The most complete was found in the same part of Brazil in 2014, leading to the identification of a new species with curved claws, called gnathovorax cabreirai.
Fossils undergo several rounds of analysis before scientists can determine whether a specimen is a member of the same species.
“We have to be very careful with this work, it’s very careful, almost surgical,” Muller said, adding that the process could take “several months.”
“Every little part that we could damage is going to be a piece of information that we might not be able to recover.”
Once the analysis is complete, Muller’s team will publish the results in a scientific journal.
Heavy rains that hit the pampas in May killed more than 180 people in Brazil and caused extensive damage to infrastructure.
Flooding exposed the fossil much earlier by “accelerating erosion,” a silver lining for researchers who would have discovered it much later, Muller said.
However, the downpour is not without its drawbacks, as heavy rains “will also destroy a lot of material” from fossils, especially small fragments.
Paleontologists closely monitor fossil deposits as a result, especially any fragments that may be uncovered, and focus their efforts during excavations on recovering these fossils in the best possible condition.
