Paleontologists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have uncovered Ahvaytum bahndooiveche, in modern-day Wyoming. This find is monumental, as it could indicate that dinosaurs inhabited the northern hemisphere millions of years earlier than previously thought, according to the findings published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
"We have, with these fossils, the oldest equatorial dinosaur in the world — it's also North America's oldest dinosaur," said Dave Lovelace, a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin Geology Museum, who co-led the work with graduate student Aaron Kufner, in a press release.
Where did A. bahndooiveche Live?
Paleontologists generally believe that dinosaurs first evolved in the southern part of the supercontinent, Pangea, around 230 million years ago. This region was known as Gondwana, and dinosaurs dwelled there for millions of years before pushing toward the northern region of Laurasia 6 million years to 10 million years later.
