Dahalokely
"little bandit"
- Lived
- 94 to 90 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Abelisauridae
- Found in
- Madagascar
- Named by
- Farke and Sertich 2013
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
90 million years ago
Habitat
It lived on land near the shoreline in northern Madagascar. The rocks containing its bones also preserve carbonized plant fragments.
Field notes
About Dahalokely
What it was like
Dahalokely was a meat eater from the abelisaurs, a family of short-faced hunters with tiny arms that ruled the southern continents in the Cretaceous. It is known only from a handful of backbones and ribs.
It was a middle-sized member of its family, smaller than its later cousin Majungasaurus.
Its world
It lived about 94 to 90 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Madagascar.
How it was found
Farke and Sertich named Dahalokely in 2013, from a single find. It filled a long gap in the fossil record of Madagascar, which has few dinosaurs of this age.
Field gallery
More views of Dahalokely
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 2
The evidence
The science behind Dahalokely
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The type specimen consists of closely associated but disarticulated neck and back vertebrae and pieces of ribs.
- Its single neck vertebra is broad and compressed, with a low spine, which suggests a shorter neck than in noasaurids.
Borrowed from relatives
- Its missing skull and limbs can be compared with other abelisaurids.
- The naming study compared its vertebrae with Majungasaurus, Carnotaurus and Masiakasaurus.
Still unknown
- Its skull shape, limb proportions and full adult size.
- Its exact place within the abelisauroid family tree and the order of its vertebrae along the backbone.
- Its color and skin covering.
Discovery timeline
- 2007Family treeO'Connor
- 2013Named itFarke & Sertich
- 2018Family treeDelcourt
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Dahalokely
Family tree
Described the backbone of Majungasaurus, which the naming study used for comparison.
THE POSTCRANIAL AXIAL SKELETON OF MAJUNGASAURUS CRENATISSIMUS (THEROPODA: ABELISAURIDAE) FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS OF MADAGASCAR. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27: 127-163
Read the paper : THE POSTCRANIAL AXIAL SKELETON OF MAJUNGASAURUS CRENATISSIMUS (THEROPODA: ABELISAURIDAE) FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS OF MADAGASCAR (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named a small abelisauroid from vertebrae and ribs, filling a gap in Madagascar's dinosaur record.
An Abelisauroid Theropod Dinosaur from the Turonian of Madagascar. PLoS ONE 8: e62047
Read the paper : An Abelisauroid Theropod Dinosaur from the Turonian of Madagascar (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Reviewed conflicting placements of Dahalokely, one grouping it with majungasaurine abelisaurids and earlier ones with noasaurids.
Ceratosaur palaeobiology: new insights on evolution and ecology of the southern rulers. Scientific Reports 8
Read the paper : Ceratosaur palaeobiology: new insights on evolution and ecology of the southern rulers (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Abelisauridae
Sources: Wikidata