According to the Report, this was announced by the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET).
The new species was named Huayracursor jaguensis. "We estimate the age of Huayracursor at about 225-230 million years, which makes it one of the oldest dinosaurs in the world," researcher Agustin Martinelli, one of the authors of a scientific paper on the discovery, said in a statement.
An almost complete skeleton was discovered at an altitude of about 3,000 meters above sea level in the province of La Rioja in western Argentina. Huayracursor was distinguished from other dinosaurs of that era by its longer neck and larger size. "We estimate its length at about 2 m and the weight of an adult at 18 kg, almost twice as much as that of other close relatives found in Argentina," said Malena Juarez, another author of the study.
As the scientists noted, the remains of a dinosaur were discovered in a little-studied geological basin. "This opens up prospects for major discoveries. It is very rare to find places that can be said to be completely new with a unique conservation and diverse fauna," Martinelli said.
