Available for editorial, museum & print licensing — inquiries & rates →
Asilisaurus was a silesaur from the Middle Triassic of Tanzania, making this almost-dinosaur one of the oldest known dinosaur relatives. Asilisaurus carried a beak at the front of tooth-bearing jaws, probably eating a combination of small animals, insects and plants.
Although most studies have recovered silesaurs just outside of true dinosaurs, a smaller contingent of researchers suggest they might be basal ornithischian dinosaurs instead. If this turns out to be correct, our idea of what the earliest dinosaurs looked like will have to change as well.
