Nhandumirim
Nhandumirim was a tiny, fast-running dinosaur that lived in Brazil over 230 million years ago. It was one of the earliest dinosaurs ever, and scientists think it may be a very early relative of the meat-eating theropods like T. rex!24
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Fun facts
Nhandumirim means 'small rhea' in the Tupi-Guarani language, because it was a speedy little dinosaur like a rhea bird.21
Its fossils were found in a small area, only about 50 centimeters wide, and were semi-articulated, meaning many bones were still in their original positions.2
The tail bones of Nhandumirim have a sharp keel along the bottom, a feature that helps scientists tell it apart from other early dinosaurs.2
Nhandumirim lived in a floodplain environment, alongside other ancient animals like the rhynchosaur Hyperodapedon and the early dinosaur Saturnalia.1
This dinosaur is about 233 million years old, making it one of the oldest known dinosaurs from the Triassic Period.24
Scientists think Nhandumirim could run fast on its long, slender legs, just like the bird it was named after.2
Most asked questions about Nhandumirim
?How big was Nhandumirim?
It was a small dinosaur, about the size of a modern rhea bird. Its name means 'small rhea' in the Tupi language.3
?What did Nhandumirim eat?
Scientists are not sure, but because it is an early sauropodomorph, it was probably a plant-eater. Some studies suggest it might have been a meat-eater like early theropods.3
?When did Nhandumirim live?
It lived about 233 million years ago during the Late Triassic Period, in what is now Brazil.3
?Is Nhandumirim a dinosaur?
Yes, it is a dinosaur. It is a basal sauropodomorph, one of the earliest dinosaurs ever discovered.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Nhandumirim
- Named by
- Marsola et al. 20194
- Group
- First dinosaurs
- Family / clade
- Saurischia4
- Age of the rocks
- 227 to 206 million years (Norian)4
- Rock formations
- Caturrita4
- Countries
- Brazil4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Nhandumirim was named in 2019 by a team of scientists including J. C. A. Marsola, based on a partial skeleton found at the Waldsanga site in Brazil. The fossils were first collected from the red mudstones of the Santa Maria Formation.42
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if Nhandumirim is a true theropod or just a very close relative, because it has some features that are similar to both theropods and other early dinosaurs.2
Where the facts come from
- A new dinosaur with theropod affinities from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation, South Brazil (paleolab.com.br)
- University of Birmingham (pure-oai.bham.ac.uk)
- Nhandumirim (en.wikipedia.org)
- Nhandumirim in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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