RIO DE JANEIRO (NEWSnet/AP) — A team of Brazil scientists has found a fossilized skeleton of what they believe is one of the world’s oldest dinosaurs.

The discovery came after heavy rain in the state of Rio Grande do Sul accelerated the natural process of erosion.

The fossil, found in May next to a reservoir in Sao Joao do Polesine, is around 233 million years old, according to paleontologist Rodrigo Temp Müller, who led the team from Federal University of Santa Maria.

The claims have not been verified by other scientists or published in a scientific journal.

The researcher believes the dinosaur lived during the Triassic Period, when all continents were part of a single land mass called Pangaea.

The apex predator found in Rio Grande do Sul belongs to the group known as Herrerasauridae that wandered across land that comprises present-day Argentina and Brazil, according to a fact sheet shared with The Associated Press.

The size of the bones suggests the dinosaur would have been about 8 feet in length, according to the document.

Rodrigo Temp Müller said he and his team are “very excited and surprised” by their findings.

“Initially it seemed like just a few isolated bones, but as we exposed the material, we were able to see that we had an almost complete skeleton,” Müller said

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