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bird-hipped dinosaur
Fona
Say it like this: “foht-NAH”
Fona herzogae
Fona ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
- Named in
- 2024 · Avrahami, H. M.; Makovicky, P. J.; Tucker, R. T.; Zanno, L. E.
- Hip height
- 0.5 m · 2 ft
- Length
- 2.2 m · 7 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- the United States · Cedar Mountain
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two legs
- Kind
- bird-hipped dinosaur · Ornithischian
- Family branch
- Thescelosaurinae
The story in short
Fona was formally named in 2024 by H. M. Avrahami and colleagues. The name means “the origin.”
Fossils referred to Fona date to the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Cedar Mountain Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Fona at a length near 2.2 m and hips about 0.5 m high.
On the family tree it sits in Thescelosaurinae, among the bird-hipped dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Changchunsaurus
Changchunsaurus parvus
Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago
Doolysaurus
Doolysaurus huhmini
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago
Haya
Haya griva
Late Cretaceous (Santonian · Campanian) · roughly 85.7 to 72.2 million years ago