Alwalkeria
Alwalkeria was a small, early reptile that lived during the Late Triassic in what is now India. It is known from only a few bones, and scientists are still debating whether it was a dinosaur or a close relative.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How tall was it?
at the hips
How heavy was it?
as long as 3 house cats nose to tail🍌as long as 8 bananas end to endabout as heavy as a house cat🍌as heavy as 42 bananas🪑small enough to walk under a chair🏃could run 100 metres in 13 seconds (the fastest human needs 9.6)How big was Alwalkeria compared to YOU?
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Fun facts
Alwalkeria was first named Walkeria in 1987, but that name was already used for a tiny sea animal, so it was changed to Alwalkeria in 1994.1
The only known fossil of Alwalkeria is a jumble of bones from different animals, including a skull that may belong to a crocodile relative and leg bones that might be from a dinosaur.1
Alwalkeria lived about 235 to 228 million years ago, during the Carnian stage of the Triassic period.1
The leg bone of Alwalkeria looks a bit like those of early dinosaurs, but some scientists think it might belong to a different group of reptiles called pseudosuchians.1
Alwalkeria is named after British paleontologist Alick Walker, who studied ancient reptiles.1
Because the fossils are so mixed up, scientists are not sure what Alwalkeria ate or how big it was.1
Most asked questions about Alwalkeria
?Was Alwalkeria a dinosaur?
Yes, Alwalkeria is classified as a dinosaur. It is a basal saurischian dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic.1
?How big was Alwalkeria?
Nobody knows for sure. The only known fossil is a jumble of bones from different animals, so scientists cannot tell how big Alwalkeria was.1
?When did Alwalkeria live?
Alwalkeria lived about 235 to 228 million years ago, during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic period.1
?Where was Alwalkeria found?
Its fossils were found in the Lower Maleri Formation of Andhra Pradesh, India, in rocks that were once an ancient lake or river.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Alwalkeria
- Named by
- Chatterjee and Creisler 19944
- Group
- First dinosaurs
- Family / clade
- Saurischia4
- Age of the rocks
- 237 to 227 million years (Carnian)4
- Rock formations
- Maleri4
- Countries
- India4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Alwalkeria was discovered in 1974 by Sankar Chatterjee in the Maleri Formation of Andhra Pradesh, India. It was first described in 1987 as Walkeria, but the name was changed in 1994 because it was already taken.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating whether Alwalkeria was a dinosaur, a close relative, or a mix of bones from different animals.1
Where the facts come from
- Alwalkeria (en.wikipedia.org)
- Biology:Alwalkeria - HandWiki (handwiki.org)
- Alwalkeria | Small Early Theropod Dinosaur from the Late Triassic (thedinosaurs.org)
- Alwalkeria in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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