Scientists have finally identified the fossilized remains of the "missing link" of dinosaurs, which walked the earth some 245 million years ago. This prehistoric creature appears like a very ancient crocodile known as the Teleocrater rhadinus, and it could provide crucial clues about the origin of dinosaurs.

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One of earliest dinosaur relatives, the Teleocrater rhadinus, is a carnivorous reptile that can grow up to 10 feet from head to tail. It also possesses a long neck and tail and walked on its four legs, similar to modern day crocodiles.

According to Richard Butler from the University of Birmingham, the Teleocrater challenges the fundamental knowledge about dinosaurs especially models of close relatives of dinosaurs that would have shared similar features. Dinosaurs are considered to be one of the most successful animal species, and it is essential to know about their origins and evolution.

In this new study, researchers say that their new findings filled a very critical gap in the fossil record of dinosaur cousins. The Teleocrater existed before a group of reptiles known as archosaurs diverged into two branches. This also means that one branch evolved into dinosaurs and birds while the other branch continues to live today as crocodiles and alligators.

These fossils were first uncovered from the Ruhuhu Basin in the south of Tanzania in East Africa in 1933. Scientists are still trying to figure out where these special dinosaurs can fit in the evolutionary tree since they lack some key bones like ankles.

Butler and his international team of researchers re-examined and analyzed these specimens once more including other fossil remnants discovered by Virginia Tech in Tanzania in 2015. With more skeletal bones to work with, the team was able to determine the Teleocrater's nearest cousins, from their dinosaur and bird branch of the archosaurs.

This new study was published in the journal Nature.