Alwalkeria

Name: Alwalkeria ‭(‬in honour of‭ ‘‬Alick Walker‭’)‬.
Phonetic: Al-wal-ke-re-ah.
Named By: Sankar Chatterjee‭ & ‬Ben Creisler.‭ ‬-‭ ‬1994‭ (‬Originally named Walkeria by Chatterjee in‭ ‬1986‭).
Synonyms: Walkeria maleriensis‭ (‬refer to text for detail‭).
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda‭?
Species: A.‭ ‬maleriensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Omnivore‭?
Size: Uncertain.
Known locations: India,‭ ‬Andhra Pradesh‭ ‬-‭ ‬Maleri Formation.
Time period: Carnian to Norian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Fragmentary remains including partial skull,‭ ‬mandible,‭ ‬femur,‭ ‬astragalus‭ (‬ankle bone‭)‬,‭ ‬and‭ ‬28‭ ‬assorted vertebrae.

       Alwalkeria was originally named in‭ ‬1986‭ ‬as Walkeria,‭ ‬however the genus name Walkeria was later found to be as preoccupied as it had already been used to name a bryozoan‭ (‬a kind of tiny aquatic invertebrate‭)‬.‭ ‬This necessited a revision to the name since naming priority is always given to the first creature to be named,‭ ‬hence the alteration to Alwalkeria in‭ ‬1994.
       Due to‭ ‬the fragmentary and incompleteness of the Alwalkeria holotype,‭ ‬not a lot is known for certain about this dinosaur.‭ ‬Alwalkeria does seem to be a saurischian‭ (‬lizard hipped‭) ‬dinosaur and possibly a primitive theropod,‭ ‬but there are not enough known features to be certain of this.‭ ‬The teeth in the known portions of the mouth are unserrated and are also heterodont,‭ ‬in that they vary from one another.‭ ‬This makes it hard to currently ascertain if Alwalkeria was a meat eater or a plant eater,‭ ‬possibly even being both.‭ ‬There is a gap between the teeth of the maxilla and pre-maxilla though,‭ ‬a feature similar to another dinosaur genus called Eoraptor.

Further reading
- A new theropod dinosaur from India with remarks on the Gondwana-Laurasia connection in the Late Cretaceous,‭ ‬Sankar Chatterje‭ ‬-‭ ‬1987.
- Alwalkeria‭ (‬Theropoda‭) ‬and Morturneria‭ (‬Plesiosauria‭)‬,‭ ‬new names for preoccupied Walkeria Chatterjee,‭ ‬1987‭ ‬and Turneria Chatterjee and Small,‭ ‬1989,‭ ‬Sankar Chatterjee‭ & ‬Ben Creisler‭ ‬-‭ ‬1994.



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