Minmi

Minmi (after Minmi Crossing)

• Minmi · Australian place name · Minmi Crossing, a locality in Queensland, Australia

Minmi is named after Minmi Crossing, a small locality near Roma in Queensland, Australia, close to where the fossil was discovered. The name was given simply to honour the geographic origin of the specimen. It is one of the shortest genus names of any dinosaur. The place name itself is of uncertain or Indigenous Australian origin.

Named by

Molnar

Year named

1980

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stages

Aptian – Albian

Found in

Bungil Formation (formerly Wallumbilla Formation), Queensland, Australia

Minmi is a small ankylosaur (armoured dinosaur) and one of the most complete dinosaur specimens ever found in Australia. It is notable for having both dorsal and ventral osteoderms (belly armour), which is unusual among ankylosaurs. Some later material referred to Minmi has been reassigned to the separate genus Kunbarrasaurus (2015), leaving Minmi paravertebra as the type and only firmly assigned species.