Aniksosaurus
"spring lizard"
- Length
- 2 m (6.6 ft)
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (96–91 Mya)
- Place
- Argentina
- Food
- Carnivore
- Clade
- Compsognathidae
Aniksosaurus (meaning “spring lizard”, from Modern Greek Άνοιξη, “Spring”, referring to the fact it was found on 21 September 1995, the onset of Spring on the Southern Hemisphere) is a genus of avetheropod dinosaur from what is now Chubut Province, Argentina. It lived during the Cenomanian to Turonian of the Cretaceous period, between 96-91 million years ago. The type species, Aniksosaurus darwini, was formally described from the Bajo Barreal Formation of the Golfo San Jorge Basin by Rubén Dario Martínez and Fernando Emilio Novas in 2006; the name was first coined in 1995 and reported in the literature in 1997. The specific epithet honors Charles Darwin who visited Patagonia in 1832/1833 during the Voyage of the Beagle.
What we know
- Named by Martínez & Novas, 2006.
- Body length estimated at about 2 m.
- Fossils found in Argentina.
What we guess
The reconstruction notes for Aniksosaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.