Asilisaurus kongwe
2:52 pm
Asilisaurus kongwe (foreground). Image by M.H. Donnelly, Field Museum
From the Ruhuhu Basin Research Asilisaurus Page
No time to treat this with more than a passing mention, but a letter in today’s Nature presents a new, Middle Triassic silesaurid from Tanzania named Asilisaurus kongwe (“ancient ancestor lizard”). This adds another continent to the known range of the silesaurids, a group of plant-eating proto-dinosaurs previously found in Europe, South America and North America. It also extends the age of this group back 10 million years, which makes it not only the oldest-known silesaurid, but the oldest known reptile on the bird side of the bird-crocodile split.
Neat stuff, and particularly interesting after looking at Eucoelophysis…
For more information:
- The Nature article: Ecologically distinct dinosaurian sister group shows early diversification of Ornithodira
- Figures from the article
- Graphics and information from the research team
- Coverage at Chinleana
do you think you could have pronounced the name before deciding to choose. I mean, who´s going to take this dinosuar seriously?