It could be the long-lost ancestor of the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. A fossil discovered in the UK is thought to be the oldest Jurassic dinosaur ever found and is one of the most complete specimens from the time period.The well-preserved remains of a juvenile dinosaur were found at Lavernock Point near Cardiff, Wales, a location that exposes rocks spanning from the late Triassic to the early Jurassic.The fossil came from rocks that lie right in between these two eras, but subsequent analysis showed the specimen was from the early Jurassic.

Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum of Wales

“Only a few handfuls of specimens worldwide come from this time and most of them are only fragments,” says Steven Vidovic from the University of Portsmouth in the UK, a member of the team that investigated the fossil.

The early Jurassic is a critical time in the evolutionary history of dinosaurs. An extinction event in the late Triassic wiped out many plants and animals, but not dinosaurs.The species that crossed over into the Jurassic are thought to hold clues as to how they diversified into the many species that existed in the middle Jurassic, some of which are the ancestors of birds.

Robert Nicholls/National Museum of Wales

Peculiar features

The specimen classifies as a new genus and species of neotheropod. It has been named Dracoraptor hanigani, its genus name referring to the national symbol of Wales – the dragon.

It has peculiar features, like short arms but hands as big as its forearms, and is estimated to have been about two metres long, although the specimen might have been a juvenile. Its teeth suggest that it was a carnivore.

Vidovic thinks the fact it has a similar overall appearance to many later dinosaurs indicates that it set this body plan. “We are seeing what it had in common with everything after it,” he says. “It was a forerunner.”

The skeleton is about 40 per cent complete. Vidovic says it actually represents about 80 per cent of the animal because dinosaurs are symmetrical.Its remarkable condition should allow for a more detailed analysis in the future.

Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum of Wales

Dino tales

“Dracoraptor is one of the best preserved meat-eating dinosaurs from the early part of the Jurassic Period – not only in Europe, but globally,” says Paul Barrett, of the Natural History Museum in London, UK. “Its discovery will probably have much to tell us about dinosaur distributions in the wake of the major extinctions.”

He adds that our knowledge of early dinosaurs is based mainly on sites in South America, Africa and Asia, so the discovery of this species in Wales is exciting. “Especially as Wales has not previously been fertile ground for dinosaur hunters.”

Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum of Wales

There is still some debate about whether Dracoraptor dates from the late Triassic or early Jurassic. This is because there weren’t enough fossils of known species found above and below it that could help to narrow down the chronology.

“There is reasonable argument that it is definitely post-extinction, and probably earliest Jurassic,” says Michael Benton, a palaeontologist at the University of Bristol, UK. “Dinosaurs from this time are pretty rare worldwide.”

Journal reference: PLoS ONE, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145713

Ref: Article By Sandrine Ceurstemont in New Scientist journal.

Key: WFS,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev,World Fossil Society