Images: The Oldest Dinosaur

Nyasasaurus

An artist's illustration of a Nyasasaurus from the middle Triassic of Tanzania.

Oldest Dino Bone?

This is the upper arm bone of Nyasasaurus parringtoni. The fossilized humerus, or upper arm bone, is about 5 inches (120 mm) long and scientist estimate it would have been about 6 inches (150 mm) long in the living animal.

Dino Bone Scan

A color scan of the Nyasasaurus bone.

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Bone Scan

The patterns in this bone scan indicate that the bone fibers are disorganized, like those of other early dinosaurs.

Tanzania Dinosaur Map

Bones of Nyasasaurus parringtoni were collected in southwest Tanzania in the 1930s from the Manda beds, which preserves fossils of many animals from the Triassic Period of Earth's history.

Dino Researcher

Lead researcher, the University of Washington's Sterling Nesbitt during field work in Mongolia.

Excavating in South Africa

Study co-researcher Paul Barrett of London's Natural History Museum excavates a skeleton of a prosauropod dinosaur near Lady Grey, South Africa.

Study Co-Researcher

Study researcher Sarah Werning of University of California, Berkeley excavates around a plaster jacket covering a Triassic dinosaur from a quarry in New Mexico.

Digging in Tanzania

Researcher Christian Sidor of the University of Washington excavates a fossil from the Manda beds, Tanzania.

Tanzania Dinosaur Map

Bones of Nyasasaurus parringtoni were collected in southwest Tanzania in the 1930s from the Manda beds, which preserves fossils of many animals from the Triassic Period of Earth's history.

Dino Researcher

Lead researcher, the University of Washington's Sterling Nesbitt during field work in Mongolia.