Dahalokely

Say it: dah-hah-loh-KEH-lee

Name means: “little bandit”1

Ate: MeatOther meat-eatersLate Cretaceous

Dahalokely was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived on the island of Madagascar about 90 million years ago. It was about as long as a small car and probably hunted smaller animals. Its name means 'little bandit' in the local language.1

Lived

94 to 90 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

near Ampandriambengy, northern Madagascar1

Food

Meat3

Length

3.5 m1

estimated

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 2 bicycles in a rowas long as 19 bananas end to end

How big was Dahalokely compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Dahalokely is the oldest known dinosaur from the Cretaceous period of Madagascar, living about 90 million years ago.1

It was a medium-sized abelisauroid, a group of carnivorous dinosaurs that lived mainly in the southern continents.1

Scientists know Dahalokely only from a partial backbone, including neck and back vertebrae.1

Dahalokely lived at a time when Madagascar and India were still connected as one landmass, called Indo-Madagascar.1

It is at least 20 million years older than the more famous Madagascan dinosaurs Majungasaurus and Masiakasaurus.1

AI-made picture of Dahalokely — An AI-made picture of how Dahalokely 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 Dahalokely

?How big was Dahalokely?

About 3.5 metres (11.5 feet) long if built like an abelisaurid, or up to 5.6 metres (18.4 feet) if built like a noasaurid. A 2016 estimate gave 3.8 metres (12.5 feet).2 1

?What did Dahalokely eat?

It was a meat-eater, so it probably hunted smaller animals. Scientists don't know exactly what it ate because only its backbone has been found.2

?When did Dahalokely live?

It lived about 90 million years ago, during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. That's at least 20 million years older than the famous Madagascan dinosaurs Majungasaurus and Masiakasaurus.2 1

?Is Dahalokely a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a dinosaur. It is a carnivorous abelisauroid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar.2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Dahalokely
Named by: Farke and Sertich 20133
Group: Other meat-eaters
Family / clade: Abelisauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Ceratosauria > Abelisauridae3
Age of the rocks: 94 to 90 million years (Turonian)3
Rock formations: Ambolafotsy3
Countries: Madagascar3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Dahalokely was named in 2013 by paleontologists Andrew Farke and Joseph Sertich. The fossils were found in northern Madagascar in rocks called the Ambolafotsy Formation.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Dahalokely is more closely related to later abelisauroids from India and Madagascar or to those from other parts of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.1

Where the facts come from

An Abelisauroid Theropod Dinosaur from the Turonian of ... (journals.plos.org)
Dahalokely (en.wikipedia.org)
Dahalokely 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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