Paleontologist, Dr Adam Yates, presents his find of a new Dinosaur fossil, called Aardonyx- 'Earth Claw", which dates back to the early Jurassic Period, 195 million years ago. It was found at Spion Kop in the Northern Free State.
Photograph by: ALON SKUY

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The herbivore, named Aardonyx Celestae was discovered on a farm in Spionkop in the northern Free State.

The seven-metre fossil was unveiled by the Bernard Price Institute for Paleontological Research today. The fossil was discovered five years ago and has been under excavation ever since.

The fossil is believed to be about 195 million years old.

Spokesman for the paleontological team, Dr Adam Yates said: “We think it was a biped, a slow moving heavy bodied creature with a huge barrel chest and a small head to strip foliage.”

The dinosaur was discovered by Wits Postgraduare student Marc Blackbeard who was on the lookout for an honours project.

He accidently stumbled upon one the most important paleontological finds the country has seen.

Yates added: “The discovery is a remarkable one. It represents a group of dinosaurs that were in the middle of an evolutionary cycle, or one that may have moved forwards and back on the evolutionary line.”