Welcome to Afromimus
Name Definition
Africa mimic
Name Given By
Paul Sereno, 2017
Location
Elrhaz Formation in Niger, central Africa
Classification
Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda, Ceratosauria, Abelisauroidea, ?Noasauridae
Size
the tibia is 40 cm long (16 in) but the total body size is unknown, though it is probably somewhere around 3 - 4 meters long and around 1 meter tall as shown in the scale
Temporal Range
Albian stage of the early Cretaceous, ~112 million years ago
Ecological niche
most likely mid sized carnivore
Species/Sub Species
A. tenerensis
Diet
While the remains are too scarce to study any further morphological attributes (especially the skull) of Afromimus, it was most likely a carnivore because of its abelisauroid label
Introduction
Afromimus is a genus of abelisauroid theropods known from the Elrahz Formation in Niger and lived during the late Early Cretaceous epoch. Afromimus means “Africa mimic” while the species name, tenerensis, is named after the Ténéré Desert in Niger. As you can tell from the name already, most mistook Afromimus for a species of ornithomimosaur, or what people know as the agile ostrich-like dinosaurs. However, a study made later in 2019 described Afromimus as an abelisauroid, though it is uncertain which family to place it in due to incomplete remains (Abelisauridae and Noasauridae), though most people think the latter is a better fit. Afromimus is only represented by 7 caudal vertebrae, bones from the right hindlimb including the tibia, and a partial rib. Afromimus lived with many well known genera of dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles including crocodyliformes like Sarcosuchus, Anatosuchus, and Araripesuchus, as well as herbivores like Ouranosaurus, Elrhazosaurus (a dryosaurid which is named after the Elrhaz Formation), Lurdusaurus, and Nigersaurus. The Elrahz theropods consisted of the semi-aquatic hunter Suchomimus, the abelisaurid Kryptops, the carcharodontosaurid Eocarcharia, and of course Afromimus itself. The image above depicts Afromimus as a noasaurid theropod.