Archaeologists from the National Museum of Brazil and Federal University of Pernambuco jointly published their findings in Rio de Janeiro three years ago detailing the discovery of a new species of dinosaur found fossilized in the Araripe Basin in Ceará, northeastern Brazil.

According to archaeologists, this kind of dinosaur is known as the Aratasaurus, a carnivorous dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period between 115 million and 111 million years ago. The fossilized dinosaur was 3.12 meters long and weighed around 34.25 kilograms. After analyzing the age of the fossilized dinosaur bones, it was found that the dinosaur was not fully developed when it died.

The Araripe Basin, where the dinosaur fossils were found, was once a large lake. Over time, the salinity of the lake changed with the encroachment of sea water. Many different species of animals and fauna had lived in this area for hundreds of millions of years. The discovery of the dinosaur fossils made archaeologists realize that there were far more species of dinosaurs that once lived in the region than previously believed.

According to archaeologists, this Brazilian dinosaur is related to another type of dinosaur that was discovered in Xinjiang, northwest China, in 2001. The dinosaur was discovered in the upper part of the Wucaiwan where it had lived around 160 million years ago in the late Jurassic period. Known as "Zuolong" in Chinese, this type of dinosaur is similar to the Aratasaurus in size, length and weight. They both lived in extremely dry environments.