Tawa

Say it like this: “Ta-WAH”

Tawa hallae

Tawa ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Triassic. Bones have been found in the United States.

Quiz me on Tawa

When: Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago
Named in: 2009 · Nesbitt, S. J.; Smith, N. D.; Irmis, R. B.; Turner, A. H.; Downs, A.; Norell, M. A.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 2.5 m · 8 ft
Weight: 16 kg · 35 lb
Found in: the United States · Chinle
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: early dinosaur · Early dinosaur
Family branch: Saurischia

The story in short

The genus Tawa dates to 2009, the year S. J. Nesbitt and colleagues described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Late Triassic (Norian), roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Chinle Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Tawa at a length near 2.5 m and a body mass around 16 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Saurischia, among the earliest dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Chindesaurus

Chindesaurus bryansmalli

Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago

Daemonosaurus

Daemonosaurus chauliodus

Late Triassic (Rhaetian) · roughly 205.7 to 201.4 million years ago

Eshanosaurus

Eshanosaurus deguchiianus

Early Jurassic (Hettangian) · roughly 201.4 to 199.5 million years ago