Tawa

Tawa's fossils were discovered at the Hayden Quarry in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, starting in 2004.1

The name Tawa comes from the Hopi word for the sun god, and the species name hallae honors Ruth Hall, founder of the Ghost Ranch Museum of Paleontology.1

Tawa had a kink in its upper jaw, between the maxilla and premaxilla, similar to some other early theropods.1

Scientists think Tawa helps show that the earliest dinosaurs evolved in South America and then spread across the supercontinent Pangaea.1

The holotype specimen of Tawa is a juvenile, with an open braincase and unfused bones.1

An isolated femur suggests that adult Tawa could be at least 30% larger than the juvenile holotype.1