Nqwebasaurus

kwe-bah-sore-us.
Published on

John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

Cite Feedback Print

Name

Nqwebasaurus ‭(‬Nqweba lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

kwe-bah-sore-us.

Named By

W.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬de Klerk,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Forster,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Sampson‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Ross‭ ‬-‭ ‬2000.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Coelurosauria,‭ ‬Maniraptoriformes,‭ ‬Ornithomimosauria.

Diet

Omnivore‭?

Species

N.‭ ‬thwazi‭

Size

About‭ ‬90‭ ‬centimetres long, but fully grown adults may have been larger.

Known locations

South Africa‭ ‬-‭ ‬Kirkwood Formation.

Time Period

Tithonian of the Jurassic to Valanginian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial individual,‭ ‬probably of a juvenile.

In Depth

       Nqwebasaurus was a small theropod from probably the early Cretaceous of Southern Africa,‭ ‬but exactly what kind has been hard to establish.‭ ‬Current thinking is that Nqwebasaurus was actually a primitive ornithomimosaur,‭ ‬since specimens of Nqwebasaurus seem to show fewer teeth in the jaws than those of other theropods.‭ ‬This would follow the pattern of tooth reduction seen in ornithomimosaurs with genera like Pelecanimimus possessing a number of teeth,‭ ‬Harpymimus having reduced teeth,‭ ‬to late Cretaceous forms like Gallimimus having no teeth,‭ ‬just a keratinous bill.

       Like with ornithomimosaurs,‭ ‬the exact diet of Nqwebasaurus is uncertain.‭ ‬Nqwebasaurus was first envisioned as a meat eater,‭ ‬but the discovery of gastroliths,‭ ‬and reduced teeth count suggest that Nqwebasaurus may have been a herbivore.‭ ‬However it should be remembered that while gastroliths are usually attributed to herbivores,‭ ‬some predators are known to use them as well,‭ ‬particularly those that eat fish and invertebrates.‭ ‬There is also the large theropod Lourinhanosaurus that was also found with gastroliths in a position that suggests that they were inside the stomach of the living dinosaur.‭ ‬It is not unreasonable to suggest that Nqwebasaurus might have even been an omnivore.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of South Africa,‭ ‬W.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬de Klerk,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Forster,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Sampson‭ & ‬C.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Ross‭ ‬-‭ ‬2000. -‭ ‬New information on Nqwebasaurus thwazi,‭ ‬a coelurosaurian theropod from the Early Cretaceous‭ (‬Hauteriverian‭?) ‬Kirkwood Formation in South Africa,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬N.‭ ‬Choiniere,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Forster‭ & ‬W.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬de Klerk‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT