Bonnan, Chinsamy and Blackbeard 2010, Neveling, Yates

Aardonyx

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Quick Facts
Name	Aardonyx
Diet	Herbivore
Weight	450 kilos
Length	8 meters
Height	1.8 meters
Period	Early Jurassic

Aardonyx was a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived on Earth during the Early Jurassic period, approximately 201 to 190 million years ago. The remains were found in places like Free State (South Africa). The name comes from two languages, "aard" is Afrikaans meaning earth and "donyx" is taken from Greek meaning claw.

They were a sauropod dinosaur and were believed to be the first of their kind to walk on all fours. Although Aardonyx were still bipedal, they were able to walk on four legs. The hind legs helped to maintain balance while their front legs had good articulation used for support and to aid in movement whenever it was beneficial. It had a thick barrel chest, a long slender neck, and a small head. It had a long tail, and its forelimbs were relatively short compared to its hind legs. It had a narrow, V-shaped jaw to allow for a wider bite with a pointed symphysis, a plesiomorphic feature it shared with other basal sauropods.

The aardonyx was a herbivore, and therefore it was clear that its main food supply was planted. The aardonyx was huge, body mass was estimated to be 2727.4 and 2m tall.

What does Aardonyx mean?

The name Aardónix comes from two languages, "aard" is Afrikaans meaning earth and "donyx" is taken from Greek meaning claw.

What did Aardonyx eat?

The aardonyx was a herbivore, and therefore it was clear that its main food supply was planted.

Where did they live?

When did they live?

What was your diet?

Who discovered them?

What kind of dinosaurs are they?

What type of species are they?

How are they classified?

References

Yates et al., 2009.
Yates et al., 2009pp. 789-790.
Yates et al., 2009, p. 788.
Associated Press (November 11, 2009). Scientists: New dinosaur species found in South Africa NPR.
Dixon, Robyn (November 12, 2009). "New dinosaur a kind of missing link".. Los Angeles Times. p. A24. Accessed November 14, 2009. Also published in the Australian newspaper The Age as:
- Dixon, Robyn (November 13, 2009). "Missing link African dinosaur discovery excites scientists".. The Age. p. 11. Accessed November 14, 2009.
Upchurch, P.; Barrett, P. M.; Zhao, X.; Xu, X. (2007). "A re-evaluation of Chinshakiangosaurus chunghoensis Ye vide Dong 1992 (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha): implications for cranial evolution in basal sauropod dinosaurs". Geological Magazine 144: 247-262.
Carrano, M. T. (2005). The evolution of sauropod locomotion: morphological diversity of a secondarily quadrupedal radiation. In Curry Rogers, K. A. & Wilson J. A. (eds.). The Sauropods: Evolution and Paleobiology, pp. 229-251. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Fun Facts

Aardonyx was a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur.
Aardonyx was a herbivore.
It stood on two or four legs.
He had a narrow, V-shaped jaw.