Iani

Iani is named after Janus, the Roman god of change, because it lived during a time when Earth's climate was warming and dinosaur populations were shifting.1

The only known skeleton of Iani is from a juvenile and includes a nearly complete skull, vertebrae, and parts of the arms and legs.1

Iani belongs to a group of dinosaurs called rhabdodontomorphs, which were mostly known from Europe before this discovery.1

During Iani's time, giant sauropods were disappearing from North America, and new dinosaurs like early duckbills and tyrannosaurs were arriving from Asia.1

Scientists think Iani might have been one of the last survivors of a dinosaur lineage that was eventually replaced by duckbill dinosaurs.1

The fossil of Iani was discovered in 2014 in the Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah, and it was named in 2023.21