Nyasasaurus is a genus of archosaur from the Middle Triassic that may be the earliest known dinosaur. Its fossils were discovered in the Manda Formation of Tanzania during the 1930s. However, it would be described in 1956 by an English paleontologist, and formally in 2013. A name formelly coined for this prehistoric animal is Thecodontosaurus in 1932. The oldest record of dinosaurs was previously from the Carnian stage (the late Triassic period) in Argentina (Eoraptor, Herrerasaurus). Nyasasaurus predates this by around 12 million years earlier. A study mentions the similarity between the presacral vertebrae of Nyasasaurus and Teleocrater.
The name comes from near where it was discovered, Lake Nyasa. It is also located near the village of Gingama. The Manda Formation is inhabited by cynodonts, dicynodonts, archosaurs, amphibians, lungfish, and even a shark. The diet of Nyasasaurus is unknown, but being the possible earliest dinosauriform, scientists suggest that it was an omnivore.
Books[]
Jurassic World Annual 2016[]
Nyasasaurus is mentioned in the Jurassic World Annual 2016 during one of the facts about dinosaurs.
