New species of long-necked dinosaur discovered

Paleontologists may have discovered when plant-eating dinosaurs evolved their long necks after a new species of sauropodomorph was found in Argentina. The fossils of the new dinosaur species, named Huayracursor jaguensis, were found in the Santo Domingo Formation in the Andes of La Rioja province in northwestern Argentina, according to a paper Thursday in Nature . H. jaguensis likely lived during the Late Triassic period, between 201 million and 237 million years ago. Its neck bones show signs of extensions that may have resulted in the evolution of long-necked sauropodomorphs that were found in the region in later periods, the researchers said. Drastic ecosystem changes took place during the Late Triassic, which led to a rise in diversification in several animal groups, including dinosaur