A new dinosaur fossil discovery in Wyoming pushes back the timeline of dinosaur presence in the northern hemisphere by millions of years, challenging the long-held theory that they originated in the south. The findings suggest dinosaurs were present in Laurasia (the northern half of Pangea) much earlier than previously thought.
Though paleontologists have been discussing the origin and spread of dinosaurs for decades, the widely accepted theory was that they emerged in the southern part of the ancient continent of Pangea over 200 million years ago, and only spread northward millions of years later. A new study dramatically changes the conversation.
The paleontologists uncovered the theory-defying fossils in present-day Wyoming in 2013. Due to Earth’s shifting tectonic plates, this region was located near the equator over 200 million years ago on Laurasia, the northern half of Pangea . While the remains were fragmented, the paleontologists were able to attribute the fossils to a new dinosaur species they named“It was basically the size of a chicken but with a really long tail,” said Lovelace.
“We have, with these fossils, the oldest equatorial dinosaur in the world — it’s also North America’s oldest dinosaur,” Lovelace added. The fact that the oldest known Laurasian dinosaur is about as old as the earliest known Gondwanan dinosaurs consequently challenges the theory that dinosaurs originated in the south of the ancient continent and only spread north millions of years later.
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