Groundbreaking Discovery: Oldest Dinosaur Remains Unearthed in the Northern Hemisphere!

The dinosaur Ahvaytum bahndooiveche was initially uncovered in a region now recognized as the state of Wyoming. This site was previously located near the equator on the supercontinent Laurasia. Nevertheless, the continent ultimately fragmented into North America, Europe, and Asia between 66 and 30 million years ago.

Despite the remains being discovered in 2013, it required several years for Dave Lovelace, a research associate at the University of Wisconsin Geology Museum, along with his team, to classify the species and age of the dinosaur.

Only finding fragments of the dinosaur’s legs posed a challenging undertaking for the scientists. However, the researchers ascertained not only the period when the creature existed but also that it was a previously unidentified species.

They further determined that it was likely an extremely early ancestor of the sauropods – a category from which later vegetarian titans, such as Patagotitan, emerged.

The skeleton of Patagotitan at the American Museum of Natural History (photo: wikipedia.org, User D. Benjamin Miller)

Conversely, Ahvaytum was not a massive creature. “It was practically the size of a chicken but had an exceptionally long tail,” Lovelace described the new species.

Currently, no fossils of other parts of Ahvaytum’s anatomy have been found that could provide further insights into the external characteristics of this species. Nonetheless, scientific illustrator Gabriel Ugueto created an artistic interpretation of Ahvaytum based on the findings of the researchers.

Post by Gabriel Ugueto (screenshot / x.com/SerpenIllus)

The dinosaur’s name originates from a term in the Shoshone language signifying ancient – emphasizing how old this creature is.

Scientists estimate that the dinosaur likely lived 230 million years ago. The researchers were able to ascertain its age through radiometric dating of the rocks at the location where the Ahvaytum fossils were discovered.

This dinosaur, about the size of a chicken, holds significant importance for researchers in comprehending the patterns of dinosaur distribution across the globe.

Specifically, Ahvaytum’s age places it among the oldest known dinosaur species. It also suggests that these creatures appeared in the Northern Hemisphere millions of years earlier than previously believed.

Incidentally, we previously shared details about 5 long-living animals.

We also discussed which creature in the world possesses the most teeth.