Ngwevu
Ngwevu was a long-necked dinosaur that lived in what is now South Africa. It had a wide, strong skull and a short snout, which helped it eat tough plants. Scientists think it was a close relative of the famous Massospondylus.1
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Fun facts
Ngwevu was named in 2019 from a fossil that was once thought to be a Massospondylus. Scientists realized it was a new dinosaur because its skull was wider and shorter than Massospondylus.1
The fossil of Ngwevu is a nearly complete skull and partial skeleton. It was nicknamed 'grey skull' by scientists before it got its official name.1
Ngwevu lived about 201 to 193 million years ago, during the Early Jurassic period.2
Bone growth rings show that the Ngwevu fossil was at least 10 years old when it died and was nearly full grown.1
Ngwevu had a wide skull that was wider than it was tall. This is different from many other early sauropodomorphs, which had narrower skulls.1
Its wide snout may have helped Ngwevu eat a different mix of plants than its relative Massospondylus, so the two dinosaurs could live in the same area without competing too much.1
Most asked questions about Ngwevu
?How big was Ngwevu?
Ngwevu was a small dinosaur. The fossil was nearly full grown and may have been about 3 metres long as an adult, making it a medium sized sauropodomorph of its time.5
?When did Ngwevu live?
Ngwevu lived during the Early Jurassic period, about 201 to 193 million years ago. The fossil was found in rocks from that time in South Africa.56
?What did Ngwevu eat?
Ngwevu ate plants. Its wide snout and strong jaw helped it eat tough plants, and it may have had a more generalist diet than its relative Massospondylus.6
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Ngwevu
- Named by
- Chapelle et al. 20197
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Massospondylidae7
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha7
- Age of the rocks
- 201 to 193 million years (Hettangian / Sinemurian)7
- Rock formations
- Elliot7
- Countries
- South Africa7
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database7
- Discovery
- Ngwevu was named in 2019 by Kimberley Chapelle and colleagues. The fossil had been sitting in a museum for years, labeled as Massospondylus, until scientists took a closer look and realized it was a new species.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if Ngwevu is a separate species or just a very unusual Massospondylus. The differences in skull shape might also be due to sex or age, but the researchers think it is a real new dinosaur.1
Where the facts come from
- Ngwevu intloko : a new early sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic Elliot Formation of South Africa and comments on cranial ontogeny in Massospondylus carinatus (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- New dinosaur found hiding in plain sight in South African museum | Dinosaurs | The Guardian (theguardian.com)
- 2019-08 - Wits University PhD student discovers new species of early dinosaur - Wits University (wits.ac.za)
- Fossil reveals smallest sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Jurassic | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Ngwevu (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
- Ngwevu in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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