The paleontologist and professor at the Institute of Geosciences at the University of São Paulo (USP), Luiz Anelli, usually repeats a question in his lectures: “Who here knew that the oldest dinosaur in the world lived here in Brazil?” With this questioning that arouses the curiosity of children and adults, he begins to pull the thread of a story, or rather, a prehistory of 250 million years. Everyone knows that it was an asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, what few know is that it was an asteroid too, that started the era of these super animals and that it all started in the place we call Mato Grosso today, with 40 kilometers in diameter . These are some discoveries that readers of the New Complete Guide to Dinosaurs in Brazil will have access to. The book presents the 54 dinosaurs already found in the country. The illustrations by paleontologist Júlio Lacerda help to visualize the animals. And in addition to the name of each dinosaur, readers can also discover the age, where the fossil was found and the state of preservation of each one. Like Staurikosaurus pricei, the oldest in the world, which lived around 233 million years ago and was discovered in Rio Grande do Sul. Another thought-provoking discovery is that dinosaurs are still among us, represented by their direct descendants, the birds. Animals that Luiz Anelli admires a lot. “Birds have a respiratory system that is absurd next to us. Today there are 5,000 species of mammals and 11,000 species of birds, 400 billion birds. We still live in the age of dinosaurs,” he explained. The new guide to dinosaurs in Brazil was published by Edusp and was designed as support material for primary, secondary and higher education teachers, in addition to being a source of study for researchers and other curious people.
Agência Brasil
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