With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Dinosaurs Older Than Once Thought

Paleontologists have discovered a new dinosaur relative that could completely rewrite the history of these animals, according to a new study which appears in tomorrow's issue of Nature.

Fossil remains of the new species, Asilisaurus kongwe, date back to about 240 million years ago -- around 10 million years before the oldest known dinosaurs first emerged.

Aside from reshaping the dino timeline, Asilisaurus has shed new light on the evolution of dinosaurs. Researchers believe that dinosaurs and their relatives went from being exclusively meat-eaters to including plants in their diet.

Read entire article at Discovery News