Lizard like reptiles which once inhabited the jurassic north america about 150 million years ago alongside dinosaurs like Stegosaurus and Allosaurus. The species is a lizard-like reptile that belongs to the same ancient lineage as New Zealand's living tuatara. A team of scientists, including University College London and Natural History Museum, London scientific associate Marc Jones, the National Museum of Natural History's curator of Dinosauria Matthew Carrano and research associate David DeMar Jr, describe the new species Opisthiamimus gregori in a paper published September 15 in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Opisthiamimus gregori had a diminutive (unusually small) size, and a rigid skull, the researchers believe that it likely ate insects. In a statement released by Smithsonian Institution, DeMar said that prey with harder shells such as beetles or water bugs might have also been on the extinct reptile's menu. The species is named after museum volunteer Joseph Gregor, who spent hundreds of hours meticulously scraping and chiseling the bones from a block of stone.
Keep Listening to Podcast 12 Awaaz Sabki
Support the show