Alwalkeria
- Lived
- 237 to 227 million years ago, Late Triassic
- Group
- Early dinosaurs
- Found in
- India
- Named by
- Chatterjee and Creisler 1994
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
230 million years ago
Habitat
Streams crossed a landscape with wet and dry seasons in what is now India. The Maleri Formation also contains Jaklapallisaurus and Nambalia.
Field notes
About Alwalkeria
What it was like
Alwalkeria was a very small, early reptile known from a few bones. It was described as an early dinosaur, but its bones are few and mixed, so scientists are unsure what it was.
Its world
It lived in the Late Triassic, in what is now India. It comes from the Maleri Formation, where the early sauropodomorphs Jaklapallisaurus and Nambalia have also been found.
How it was found
Chatterjee and Creisler gave it the name Alwalkeria in 1994, replacing an earlier name that was already in use for another animal.
Field gallery
More views of Alwalkeria
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Alwalkeria.
The evidence
The science behind Alwalkeria
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The original collection contains skull pieces, vertebrae and hindlimb bones from several different reptiles.
- The name is now tied to the lower end of a right thigh bone.
Borrowed from relatives
- Restorations using early dinosaurs such as Eoraptor as models supply almost the entire body.
Still unknown
- Whether it was a dinosaur or belonged to another branch of the bird-line reptiles.
- The shape of its head and body.
- Its diet and skin covering.
Discovery timeline
- 1994Named itChatterjee & Creisler
- 2025RedescriptionSen & Ray
- 2025RedescriptionMcDavid, Marchant & Reid
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Alwalkeria
Named it
Replaced an earlier genus name that was already in use for another animal.
Alwalkeria (Theropoda) and Morturneria (Plesiosauria), new names for preoccupied Walkeria Chatterjee, 1987 and Turneria Chatterjee and Small, 1989. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 14: 142-142
Read the paper : Alwalkeria (Theropoda) and Morturneria (Plesiosauria), new names for preoccupied Walkeria Chatterjee, 1987 and Turneria Chatterjee and Small, 1989 (opens in a new tab)Redescription
Separated the thigh bones from the ankle bone and proposed that the thigh bones belonged to a relative of pterosaurs.
Taxonomic reassessment of archosaurs with dinosaurian affinities from the lower fauna of the Upper Triassic Maleri Formation of India and their significance. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 45
Read the paper : Taxonomic reassessment of archosaurs with dinosaurian affinities from the lower fauna of the Upper Triassic Maleri Formation of India and their significance (opens in a new tab)Redescription
Confirmed that Alwalkeria remains the correct name and questioned the proposed relationship to pterosaur relatives.
Alickmeron Sen & Ray, 2025 is an objective junior synonym of Alwalkeria Chatterjee & Creisler, 1994. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 45
Read the paper : Alickmeron Sen & Ray, 2025 is an objective junior synonym of Alwalkeria Chatterjee & Creisler, 1994 (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Saurischia
Sources: Wikidata