Tainrakuasuchus Bellator. Credit: Caio Fantini. CC BY.

Although it might look like a dinosaur, a newly discovered carnivorous lizard is actually a precursor of the modern crocodile.

The ‘extremely rare’ revelation of this new armour-plated carnivore reptile reinforces our knowledge of the connection between Brazil and Africa 240 million years ago

Named Tainrakuasuchus bellator, partially derived from Latin meaning for ‘warrior’ or ‘fighter’, this armour-plated reptile lived 240 million years ago, just before the dinosaurs.

And, as a Pseudosuchia (the precursors of modern crocodiles and alligators), it was among a group of the top, most dominant predators of its time in the Triassic Period. This particular new species was approximately 2.4m long and weighed 60kg.

It used its long neck and agile mobility to prey on victims using quick and precise movements, before gripping its prey using its slender jaw profile full of sharp, recurved teeth to hold the target, preventing them from escaping.

Lead author Dr Rodrigo Temp Müller, who led a team of palaeontologists from the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, in Brazil, said: “This animal was an active predator, but despite its relatively large size, it was far from the largest hunter of its time with the same ecosystem home to giants as big as seven meters long.

“Pseudosuchia were a diverse group of animals capable of tackling robust prey, as well as small hunters specialised in catching swift animals.

“Although its appearance superficially resembles that of a dinosaur, Tainrakuasuchus bellator does not belong to that group. One of the clearest ways for us to distinguish it from dinosaurs lies in the structure of the pelvis where the characteristics of its hip and femur joints are very different.”

He added: “Tainrakuasuchus bellator’s discovery represents the complexity of the ecosystem at the time, with different pseudosuchia species – varying in sizes and hunting strategies – occupying specific ecological niches.

“Its discovery helps illuminate a key moment in the history of life, the period that preceded the rise of the dinosaurs.”

Tainrakuasuchus Bellator. Credit: Caio Fantini. CC BY.

Partial skeleton

Müller and his team discovered its fossils during a dig in the municipality of Dona Francisca, in southern Brazil, during May 2025.

They unearthed, surrounded in rock, a partial skeleton preserving parts of the lower jaw, vertebral column, and pelvic girdle.

From this they could reveal many behaviours of the creature, as well as the fact that Tainrakuasuchus bellator had a back covered by bony plates known as osteoderms, structures that are also present in modern crocodiles.

And, although the limbs were not preserved, the expert team believe, like its close relatives, it moved on all four limbs.

Its name they have given to the creature is ‘Tainrakuasuchus’ combining the Guarani words tain (‘tooth’) and rakua (‘pointed’) with the Greek suchus (‘crocodile’), in reference to the animal’s sharp teeth.

The ‘bellator’ part of its name comes from the Latin word for ‘warrior’ or ‘fighter’ – which the authors state ‘honours the people of Rio Grande do Sul, symbolising their strength, resilience, and fighting spirit, especially in light of the recent floods that have affected the state’.

Palaeontologist Rodrigo Temp Müller with the fossil of Tainrakuasuchus Bellator. Credit: Rodrigo T Müller. CC BY.

Pangaea

Müller describes Tainrakuasuchus bellator’s discovery as “extremely rare”.

He explains it’s also further evidence of the ancient connection between Brazil and Africa during the Triassic Period – when the world’s continents were united into a single supercontinent, Pangaea.

Müller said: “Despite the diversity of pseudosuchians, they remain poorly understood, as fossils of some their lineages are extremely rare in the fossil record.

“The fossils we found underwent a meticulous preparation process in the laboratory, during which the surrounding rock was carefully removed.

“Once the anatomical details were revealed, we were delighted and really excited to reveal that the specimen represented a species previously unknown to science.”

He advised: “What we uncovered was a species that belongs to a predator closely related to one (Mandasuchus tanyauchen) found in Tanzania.

“This connection between animals from South America and Africa can be understood in light of the Triassic Period’s paleogeography.

“At that time, the continents were still united, which allowed the free dispersal of organisms across regions that are now separated by oceans. As a result, the faunas of Brazil and Africa shared several common elements, reflecting an intertwined evolutionary and ecological history.

“Tainrakuasuchus bellator would have lived in a region bordering a vast, arid desert – the same setting as where the first dinosaurs emerged.”

Müller concluded: “It shows that, in what is now southern Brazil, reptiles had already formed diverse communities adapted to various survival strategies.

“Moreover, this discovery reveals that such diversity was not an isolated phenomenon.”

The research is detailed in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.