Alwalkeria alwor-KEEREEUH
- Length
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Period
- Late Triassic (228 Mya)
- Place
- India
- Food
- Carnivore
- Clade
- Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.
Alwalkeria (; “for Alick Walker”) is a historically problematic extinct genus of avemetatarsalian known from the Late Triassic Lower Maleri Formation of India. The genus contains a single species, Alwalkeria maleriensis. It was initially described in 1987 under the genus name , based on a partial skull, several vertebrae, and fragmentary hindlimb bones. As this name is preoccupied, the new genus Alwalkeria was proposed to replace it. Early research interpreted the material belonging to a ‘podokesaurid’ (coelophysoid) theropod, herrerasaur, or Eoraptor-like basal eusaurischian dinosaur. Subsequent work recognized the chimaeric status of the fossils referred to this species, as they belong to multiple unrelated taxa. Some of the bones may belong to a dinosaur, and the skull is likely from a pseudosuchian.
What we know
- Named by (Chatterjee, 1987).
- Fossils found in India.
What we guess
The reconstruction notes for Alwalkeria — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.