Nyasasaurus parringtoni

Nyasasaurus parringtoni lived around 245 million years ago, making it the earliest known dinosaur.

The Museum holds the type specimen of N.parringtoni: a partial skeleton that includes vertebrae and an arm bone. Based on these fossils, N.parringtoni was formally described and named as a species in 2012.

This early reptile represents the roots of the dinosaur family tree. Fossils from the period reveal early dinosaurs to be a minor group of unusual, small reptiles, living in a world dominated by other groups.