In Brazil, are found fossils that may be 75 million years old

Fossils that were found last week in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo could indicate a new dinosaur species that lived 75 million years ago, according to palaeontologist Sandra Tavares.

The director of the Monte Alto Paleontological Museum said rib bones and vertebrae had been identified, but it was not yet possible to identify the species.

The website says that the rocks in which the remains were found are the same age as the first fossils discovered in the city in the 1980s. They are estimated to be about 75 million years old.

"We have a right to expect something out of the ordinary because we don't know exactly what kind of animal we have discovered. It could be something unprecedented," said the specialist.

If the rock is 75 million years old, so is everything in it, Tavares said, noting that the animal "lived during a period called the Cretaceous, in the Mesozoic geological era".

At this point, researchers can only state that the fossils found are parts of ribs and some vertebrae. No definition of the species is available.

"All this may surprise people in a few years, after preparing the fossil in the laboratory, and we will be sure whether it was a sauropod dinosaur (Pescocudos) or a carnivore," Sandra Tavares said.

Zavropods are most commonly found in Brazil and South America, and the assumption that the new fossils belong to this particular species is due to the size of the rib bones, as reported by Prensa Latina, a partner of TV BRICS.

"It is unlikely that it was a predator because the bones, the ribs are very large. There is a possibility that these are fossils of a sauropod dinosaur, which is a herbivore and is quite common here in Monte Alto," remarked the paleontologist.

Photo: Prensa Latina