New species of extinct reptile discovered after 150 million years
It’s always exciting to learn about new discoveries, isn’t it? Be it a prehistoric animal or a recently-born plant, nature always showers us with awe-inspiring surprises. Recently, a new species of reptiles, Opisthiamimus Gregori, has been discovered. As per the scientists, it is a close relative of the last living member of a once diverse group of reptiles known by the name of tuatara (looks like an iguana and is native to New Zealand), the direct antecedent of the lizard. The findings have been published by Smithsonian researchers in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Here’s everything you need to know about this new-found reptile species.
Meet Opisthiamimus Gregori
This extinct species of lizard-like reptile lived 150 million years ago, in what we identify as the Late Jurassic Age. They existed alongside popular dinosaurs such as the Stegosaurus and the Allosaurus. It has been named after Natural History Museum volunteer Joseph Gregor who helped find it.
Opisthiamimus Gregori was around 16 centimetres in heigh from its nose to the tail with a rigid skull structure, and could have easily fitted curled up in the palm of an adult human. As for its diet, it primarily comprised of insects and other invertebrates, such as tiny aquatic fishes and plants, due to its small-sized jaws and teeth.
Just like its close relative tuatara, Opisthiamimus Gregori too is not a lizard, rather a stout looking iguana. If put in scientific terms, it is in fact rhynchocephalians, an order that diverged from lizards more than 230 million years ago.
Who discovered Opisthiamimus Gregori and where?
A team of researchers based in the National Museum of Natural History, USA, University College London and Natural History Museum, London discovered Opisthiamimus Gregori from a handful of samples, of well-preserved and complete fossil skeletons that were unearthed from a site deemed for being an Allosaurus nest in north-central Wyoming’s Morrison Formation.
Once the fossils were traced, they were scanned using high-resolution computerised tomography (CT). In this technique, multiple X-ray images are used from different angles to make a 3D model.
Why is this discovery so important?
Scientists believe that this latest finding will shed light on how this particular order of reptiles ended up being native to only New Zealand’s existing species tuatara from diverse and plenty across continents in the Jurassic Period. Not only that, it also helps explain the evolution of modern-day reptiles, such as the tuatara along wide its unique features. For instance, tuatara’s lifespan is over 100 years, and its teeth are fused to the jaw bone, making it ideal to chew even during the frigid climates. The brand-new findings will also help study, why tuatara is the only remaining rhynchocephalians, while lizards continue to dominate the world. Scientists believe that this could have been due to two reasons, one is of course climate change and the next is global shifts in habitats.