New dinosaur species found in SAfrica

Paleontologist Adam Yates today described the find of fossilized bones of a new dinosaur species, Aardonyx Celestae, from the early Jurassic period (about 200 million years old) during an announcement of the discovery at the University of the Witwatersrand

Scientists say the discovery of the new dinosaur species in South Africa that may help explain how the creatures evolved into the largest animals on land.

The species was a plant-eater dating back about 200 million years to the early Jurassic period. The dinosaur walked on its hind legs but could drop to all fours and stood nearly 6 feet (about 1.7 meters) high at the hip.

Yates believes it represents a missing evolutionary link between earlier dinosaurs and their descendants.