| Tawa Temporal range: Late Triassic | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Tawa hallae | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Genus: | †Tawa Nesbitt et al., 2009 |
| Species: | †T. hallae |
| Binomial name | |
| Tawa hallae Nesbitt et al., 2009 | |
Tawa is an extinct genus of basal theropod dinosaur. It is named after a Pueblo sun god, estimated to have lived around 215 mya, in the Middle Triassic. Not very much is known about Tawa, but hope is that extensive research and analysis will help unlock the history of the dinosaurs' evolutionary chain.
Fact File[]
- Height = Estimated 1m
- Length = 2m
- Weight = 20 kg
- Diet = Carnivore|Carnivorous
- Found = New Mexico U.S.A
Ecology[]
As very little is known about Tawa it is very difficult to accurately tell its eating habits. However, it is most likely that it lived on similar diets to Herrerasaurus and Eoraptor due to the similarities in tooth shape and jaws, mainly eating small lizards, insects and carrion. It is unknown as to whether or not it turned to cannibalism in hard times, like Coelophysis, but it is likely as many in the family did the same.
In Popular Culture[]
Tawa shown in the Flap to the Future logo [at left] along with Microraptor, an American robin, and "Future Bird."
Tawa is a playable dino character in a Bird Academy game, Flap to The Future.
Gallery[]
