Paravipus didactyloides

The fossil tracks from Niger were examined intensively and a copy of them was made with the help of glass fibre mats and epoxy resin.

There was no way to know what the originators of the tracks looked like, since only footprints were found, no bones. The researchers based their assumptions with regards to looks on the anatomy of other raptors on other continents that left similar footprints. Thus the second sensational result of the Brunswick expedition came about: the Braunschweig team had discovered another new species. The track taxon was named Paravipus didactyloides which means “Track of a two-toed bird-like animal”. The name signifies the distinctiveness of the find: the footprints, that the two-legged predator left behind 160 – 170 million years ago in the soft mud of Africa.