Asilisaurus

Asilisaurus (ɑːˌsiːliːˈsɔːrəs ); from Swahili, asili ("ancestor" or "foundation"), and Greek, σαυρος (sauros, "lizard") is an extinct genus of silesaurid archosaur. The type species is Asilisaurus kongwe. Asilisaurus fossils were uncovered in the Manda Beds of Tanzania and date back to the early Carnian, making it one of the oldest known members of the Avemetatarsalia (animals on the dinosaur/pterosaur side of the archosaurian family tree). It was the first non-dinosaurian dinosauriform recovered from Africa. The discovery of Asilisaurus has provided evidence for a rapid diversification of avemetatarsalians during the Middle Triassic, with the diversification of archosaurs during this time previously only documented in pseudosuchians (crocodylian-line archosaurs). Asilisaurus is known from a relatively large amount of fossils compared to most non-dinosaur dinosauromorphs. This has allowed it to provide important information for the evolution of other silesaurids and the origin of dinosaurs. It had several unique features compared to its close relatives, such as a lack of teeth at the front of the premaxilla and a lower jaw which was not only toothless at the tip, but also downturned. These indicate that it probably had a small beak on the tip of the snout. It was fairly basal among silesaurids, and retained some dinosaur-like features absent in advanced silesaurids, such as a supratemporal fossa and a quadrate which overlaps the squamosal. On the other hand, it also retains primitive features contrasting with dinosaurs, including two hip vertebrae, a closed hip socket, a crurotarsal ankle, and a non-vestigial fifth toe of the foot. Asilisaurus was described in 2010 by a team of researchers from the United States, Germany, and South Africa, in the journal Nature. The generic name is derived from asili, the Swahili word for "ancestor" or "foundation", as well as σαυρος (sauros), the Greek word for "lizard". This refers to its position as an early avemetatarsalian which helps provide details for the evolution of dinosaurs.