![\"Tainrakuasuchus](\"https:\/\/cdn.sci.news\/images\/enlarge13\/image_14352e-Tainrakuasuchus-bellator.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTainrakuasuchus bellator. Image credit: Caio Fantini.<\/p>\n
Tainrakuasuchus bellator lived in what is now Brazil during the Triassic period, some 240 million years ago.<\/p>\n
This ancient predator measured approximately 2.4 m (8 feet) long and weighed 60 kg.<\/p>\n
The species had a back covered by bony plates known as osteoderms, structures that are also present in modern crocodiles.<\/p>\n
It used its long neck and agile mobility to prey on victims using quick and precise movements, before gripping its prey using its slender jaw profile full of sharp, recurved teeth to hold the target, preventing them from escaping.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis animal was an active predator, but despite its relatively large size, it was far from the largest hunter of its time with the same ecosystem home to giants as big as 7 m (23 feet) long,\u201d said Dr. Rodrigo Temp M\u00fcller, a paleontologists at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria.<\/p>\n
Tainrakuasuchus bellator was a member of Pseudosuchia<\/a> \u2014 precursors of modern crocodiles and alligators.<\/p>\n \u201cPseudosuchia were a diverse group of animals capable of tackling robust prey, as well as small hunters specialized in catching swift animals,\u201d Dr. Temp M\u00fcller said.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough its appearance superficially resembles that of a dinosaur, Tainrakuasuchus bellator does not belong to that group.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the clearest ways for us to distinguish it from dinosaurs lies in the structure of the pelvis where the characteristics of its hip and femur joints are very different.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTainrakuasuchus bellator\u2019s discovery represents the complexity of the ecosystem at the time, with different pseudosuchia species \u2014 varying in sizes and hunting strategies \u2014 occupying specific ecological niches.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIts discovery helps illuminate a key moment in the history of life, the period that preceded the rise of the dinosaurs.\u201d<\/p>\n A partial skeleton of Tainrakuasuchus bellator, preserving parts of the lower jaw, vertebral column, and pelvic girdle, was found in May 2025 in the municipality of Dona Francisca in southern Brazil.<\/p>\n Although the animal\u2019s limbs were not preserved, the expert team believe, alike its close relatives, it moved on all four limbs.<\/p>\n \u201cTainrakuasuchus bellator\u2019s discovery is further evidence of the ancient connection between Brazil and Africa during the Triassic period \u2014 when the world\u2019s continents were united into a single supercontinent, Pangea,\u201d Dr. Temp M\u00fcller said.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the diversity of pseudosuchians, they remain poorly understood, as fossils of some their lineages are extremely rare in the fossil record.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fossils we found underwent a meticulous preparation process in the laboratory, during which the surrounding rock was carefully removed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the anatomical details were revealed, we were delighted and really excited to reveal that the specimen represented a species previously unknown to science.\u201d<\/p>\n