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THE FOSSIL remains of a hitherto unknown species of dinosaur that is being hailed as the missing link between prehistoric two-legged animals and those that walked on four legs has been discovered in South Africa.

The researchers found the remains of two juvenile skeletons of the newly named Aardonyx celestae, a heavy, slow-moving herbivore that lived near Senekal in the northern Free State province around 950 million years ago. The Aardonyx, which had short, broad feet and a big midriff, was at least 7m long and as tall as a 6ft man even when juvenile.