Scientists may be wrong about the first dinosaurs, studies suggest

The earliest fossils of science known to science were found in Victoria England. Then in the 19th century, Western America became famous for its stunning dinosaur discoveries, such as beloved Jurassic dinosaurs Stegosaurus and Apatosuspreserved today in a stone layer National Monument Dinosaur in Utah, a beautiful Zion National Park looks like.

In recent decades, locations around the world have gained attention to their fossil discoveries, such as in China, where Scientists find the dinosaur eggs “completely intact”. This new discovery has redefined how paleontologists think about the history of life on earth. However, scientists continue to face challenges while trying to determine the region in which the first dinosaur grows.

The gap in the fossil records, together with uncertainty about how the earliest species of dinosaur related to each other, have made problems more complicated. However, a new study may indicate that the previously assumed area where dinosaurs come from may not be completely correct (or otherwise may be slightly more complex than thought).

A team of scientists from University College London in the United Kingdom arrived at a wise solution to find a region where the first dinosaurs were growing – or, at least, where paleontologists should start digging.

The earliest known dinosaur species

The oldest dinosaur fossil was found in Africa and South America, but paleontologists lost something?

Most iconic dinosaur species are popular in films and books that live during the Jurassic or Cretaceous period. However, the first dinosaurs came from the previous geological time, known as the late Triassic period, which lasted from 237 to 201 million years ago.

The first triasaur dinosaur species found was Plateosaurusfound in Germany in 1834. It took scientists many generations to understand Plateosaurus Right, but now believed to be called paleontologists as “basal sauropodomorph” – in essence, the ancient ancestors of the old Sauropod dinosaurs Brachiosaurus.

The layer of the stone Plateosaurus Found on a return date known as “Norian Level” from Triassic late, about 227 to 204 million years ago.

Triassic’s main dinosaurs were discovered in New Mexico during the paleontology “Bone Wars” in the 1880s. Named Coelophysis With the legend of Edward Drikker Cope, this dinosaur is an early theropod.

Theropods is a group of two -legged dinosaur that includes famous meat eaters like Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor. Since its discovery, fossils Coelophysis was found in the age of the Norian age from all over the southwest, including in Petrized National Forest (one of the less fortunate Arizona Parks).

By the end of the 20th century, paleontologists began to explore Patagonia, remote areas and paradise of fun seekers in the southern end of South AmericaFor older dinosaur fossils. This venture produces two new species: Herrerasaurus (described in 1963) and Eoraptor (described in 1993).

Both species were found in a stone layer from a period of time known as “The Carnian”, the early stage of Triassic, which lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago. This dinosaur is older than Plateosaurus and Coelophysis.

Paleontologists are uncertain and often debated Herrerasaurus‘Places in the Dinosaur family tree. However, it is generally believed to be “Saurischian:-a large group of dinosaurs that include both long sauropods and meat eating theropods.

Eoraptor was initially considered as an early theropod (thus “raptor” part of its name), but is now accepted as sauropodomorph (long ancestors), such as Plateosaurus.

The new discovery challenges the original traditional scenery -the first dinosaurus

The Triassic dinosaur found in Africa and North America complicates the original model -usul dinosaur in South South America

The new species led to the original dinosaurs even earlier in Triassic, which brought some paleontologists to assume that the first dinosaurs flown to the southwest of Gondwana -A territory in the ancient Gondwana supercontinent located in Argentina.

However, this new scientific work has challenged this thinking.

Species Sync was described in scientific paper in 2013. Sync Found in a stone layer of Tanzania from the Central Anisian Triassic stage, about 247 to 241 million years ago, making it older than Argentina Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus.

Paleontologists debate either Sync is a true dinosaurs, but if it is, it will become the oldest dinosaurs known so far.

At the beginning of 2025, another new species of Sauropodomorph (long ancestors) were described by scientists. This one is given a scientific name Ahvaytum, And it was found in Wyoming in the rocks since returning to Triassic’s “Carnian Theater”. This means Ahvaytum about -so far Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus, make The oldest dinosaurs ever found in North America.

Along with Sync‘Location in Africa, AhvaytumLocations in North America mean that conventional thinking about the earliest dinosaurs growing in Argentina may have some problems. It will be left to a wise paleontological team to address this problem from another angle.

Unloading the indicators pointing to where the first dinosaurs came

A new approach points to another region as an origin of dinosaur

In a Recent Publications in Journal The current biologyA team of scientists from University College London (UCL) believes they have found a region where dinosaurs first appeared. They use computer models to contribute gaps in fossil records and the relationship between known dinosaur species. Team analysis shows “the origin of low gondwanes for dinosaurs.”

Although the continent of the earth has changed above the EON due to the Continental Drift, the continent is now in the Southern Hemisphere (Africa, South America, Australia, and Antarctica) is generally in the Southern Hemisphere during the Triassic era. However, the continent at that time was combined together into a supercontinent where scientists called “Gondwana”.

The UCL team believes The first dinosaurs appeared not in the southwest of Gondwana (Argentina today) but in the north of the supercontinentwho was around the Earth’s equator at that time. The equatorial section of this Gondwana is in accordance with remote areas of Africa and South America today. The lead author Joel Heath, a graduate student at UCL, explained in the paper:

“Today, the region is north of Africa and South America.

The result of the UCL paper provides an attractive arrow pointing to where the paleontologists should review the next dinosaur. It will be left for future generations of scientists who dare to pack their bags, apply for grant funding, and go to Sahara or Amazon to find rare fossils that will eventually establish the first dinosaurs.