240-million-year-old reptile fossil reveals a lost chapter before dinosaurs and crocodiles

A recently discovered 240-million-year-old fossil found in Brazil provides significant new insights into the evolutionary period just before the dominance of dinosaurs and crocodiles. The reptile, a small predator, exhibited unique anatomical features, particularly regarding the positioning of its legs, which likely provided it with superior mobility and locomotive efficiency compared to its contemporaries. The discovery also bridges a biogeographical gap, as the reptile's closest relatives were previously known only from distant continents. This suggests that during the Triassic period, these animals achieved a much wider global distribution than was previously understood by researchers. This finding serves as a critical piece in the puzzle of early reptile evolution, illustrating the transitional morphological adaptations that preceded the emergence of major archosaur lineages.