Computer modeling shows that Nyasasaurus could be the earliest known dinosaur, or else a close relative of early dinosaurs. (Credit: Mark Witton/The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London) ...

Scientists think they know where the missing pieces to the puzzle of the evolution of dinosaurs could be found.

By using dinosaurs' close reptilian cousins to close gaps in the fossil record, a new model points to an ancient supercontinent as the birthplace of the extinct creatures.