PRIMITIVE DINOSAUR SKELETON FROM ARGENTINA AND THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF DINOSAURIA

WE report here the discovery of a primitive dinosaur skeleton from Upper Triassic strata in northwestern Argentina. The 1-m-long skeleton represents a new taxon, Eoraptor lunensis gen. et sp. nov., which is close to the predicted structure and size of the common dinosaurian ancestor1-5. The skull, which has a unique heterodont dentition, does not exhibit any of the specializations of the major dinosaurian clades (Ornithischia, Sauropodomorpha, Theropoda). The forelimbs are less than half the length of the hind limbs, which suggests an obligatory bipedal posture. Although close in overall form to the common dinosaurian ancestor, the functionally tridactyl, grasping/raking hand and other features show that Eoraptor is allied phylogenetically with theropods. The discovery of Eoraptor supports the hypothesis that dinosaurs diverged rapidly at small body size from a common ancestor, with the principal herbivorous and carnivorous lineages present by the middle Carnian.