Researchers have unearthed a giant "warrior" lizard that stalked Brazil 240 million years ago in the Triassic period, just before the dawn of the dinosaurs. The discovery fills in gaps in our understanding of the time before the dinosaurs dominated Earth, and further highlights the links between what is now Africa and South America.
The armor-plated reptile resembles a dinosaur but is actually an ancestor of modern crocodiles. Scientists have called the creature Tainrakuasuchus bellator, which is a mixture of Greek, Latin and Indigenous Brazilian language Guarani, meaning "pointed-tooth warrior crocodile." The team revealed its findings in a study published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology on Nov. 13.
