28 Days Of Dinosauria - 7

[swordznsorcery]

Day 07: From Lake Nyasa in the mid-Triassic, some 245 million years ago, Nyasasaurus parringtoni is the oldest known true dinosaur. Like with the evolution from dinosaurs to birds, it can be hard to say when the first dinosaur was, and there's some argument that Spondylosoma may be the oldest. Or it may not be. In the meantime, Nyasasaurus is, unless you're one of those arguing that it's not a dinosaur either. Evolution is complicated. Especially when you only have a few bones.

Comments

[dimity_blue]

That's another small one!

Given how long ago it was, it's incredible how many different dinosaurs they can identify.

[swordznsorcery]

There's some remarkable talent in palaeontology, although of course the current lot have some great pioneers to thank. Basically, if you have enough of the skeleton to go on, you can look at the variations. Things like joints, teeth, horns, etc. There's a lot of pure luck involved though. When you consider the destructive effects of plate tectonics, it's remarkable that anything survives long enough to be found! And plenty of stuff works its way to the surface, and just weathers away before it can be found.

[dimity_blue]

That last bit is truly awful. I obviously know nothing about the subject but the thought of potential knowledge being lost is horrible.

[swordznsorcery]

I know. It's all a bit "Ozymandias". Time is cruel, and what can you do.