A team of researchers detailed in a new study how dinosaurs evolved from their ancestor much quicker than previously believed.
According to Live Science, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found dinosaurs evolved from dinosauromorphs in about five million years, rather than 10 million or 15 million years.
"To discover that these early dinosaur relatives were geologically much younger than previously thought was totally unexpected," study co-author Randall Irmis, associate professor and curator of paleontology at the Natural History Museum, said in a press release. "Among Triassic geologic formations containing fossils, the Chañares Formation is a classic. It contains a variety of complete fossil specimens of early dinosauromorphs, which are essentially dinosaur aunts, uncles and cousins."
For their research, the scientists examined ancient dinosauromorphs fossils, but examined a mineral called zircon in the rock containing the fossils for a better reading on how old they are. Embedded in zircon crystals is radioactive element uranium, which can give an accurate age reading because it decays into lead over time.
"We know the exact rate at which uranium decays into lead," Irmis told Live Science. "When we look at the ecosystems of [the] first dinosauromorphs and the ecosystems with the first dinosaurs, it's interesting that we don't see much difference in how the ecosystems are put together.
"You don't seem to see dinosaurs showing up and immediately taking over."
