Alnashetri

Say it: al-NASH-eh-tree

Name means: “slender thighs”1

Ate: MeatOdd feathered dinosEarly Cretaceous

Alnashetri was a tiny, feathered dinosaur that sprinted through the forests of ancient Argentina. It belonged to a group called alvarezsauroids, known for their long legs and bird-like feet. Scientists think it used its speed to chase after small prey.1

Lived

113 to 110 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

La Buitrera, Río Negro Province, Argentina1

Food

Meat4

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Alnashetri had a low ridge on its shin bone that separated the ankle joint from the outer part of the bone, a unique feature not seen in other coelurosaurs.1

The only known fossils are the hind legs of one individual, found in 2005 at a site called Hoyada de los Esfenodontes.1

Its name comes from the Tehuelche language and means 'slender thighs,' because its legs were long and slim.1

Alnashetri lived alongside the dromaeosaurid Buitreraptor, but the two dinosaurs are easy to tell apart by differences in their foot bones.1

The rocks where Alnashetri was found also contain fossils of ancient snakes, rhynchosaurs, and mammals, showing that La Buitrera was a rich ecosystem.1

AI-made picture of Alnashetri — An AI-made picture of how Alnashetri might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Alnashetri

?How big was Alnashetri?

Alnashetri was about the size of a crow, making it one of the smallest known dinosaurs.3

?What did Alnashetri eat?

It probably hunted small animals like lizards, snakes, mammals and invertebrates.3

?When did Alnashetri live?

Alnashetri lived during the Early Cretaceous, about 111 to 106 million years ago.1

?Where was Alnashetri found?

Its fossils were discovered in La Buitrera, Río Negro Province, Argentina, in the Candeleros Formation.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Alnashetri
Named by: Makovicky et al. 20124
Group: Odd feathered dinos
Family / clade: Alvarezsauridae4
Classification: Theropoda > Alvarezsauridae4
Age of the rocks: 113 to 110 million years (Albian)4
Rock formations: Candeleros4
Countries: Argentina4
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Alnashetri was first described by paleontologists Peter Makovicky, Sebastián Apesteguía, and Federico Gianechini in 2012. The name honors the nearby village of Cerro Policía, whose residents helped with fieldwork.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly where Alnashetri fits on the dinosaur family tree. Its ankle bones suggest it was an alvarezsauroid, but this evidence comes from only one part of the body and might be misleading.1 2

Where the facts come from

Alnashetri (en.wikipedia.org)
A New Coelurosaurian Theropod from the La Buitrera Fossil Locality of Río Negro, Argentina (ri.conicet.gov.ar)
'Exquisite' fossil of one of the smallest dinosaurs found in Argentina | Reuters (reuters.com)
Alnashetri in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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