Minmi

*Minmi paravertebra*

**Minmi**, named after Minmi Crossing, Australia (where it was found), is a genus of small ankylosaurian dinosaur that lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 119 to 113 million years ago. The type species, *M. paravertebra*, was described by Ralph Molnar in 1980. A new cladistic analysis performed by Thompson et al. (2011) suggests that *Minmi* is the most basal known ankylosaurid. Previously holding the record for the shortest dinosaur genus name, the title now goes to *Mei*, a carnivore from China that was named in 2004, and *Kol*, a carnivore from Mongolia that was named in 2009.

Two high quality fossil specimens of *Minmi* have been described, including a mostly complete skeleton, and additional fragments may pertain to this genus. *Minmi* was first found near the Minmi Crossing, in the Bungil Formation, near Roma, Queensland, Australia. It was first described in 1980 by Ralph E. Molnar, who also named the type (and only known) species. The second and most complete *Minmi* skeleton was found in 1990, at Marathon Station, Queensland.

## Description

*Minmi* was a small ankylosaur, reaching about 3 metres in length and 1 metre in height, weighing about 1 tonne. It had long legs (for an Ankylosaur), with hind legs larger than the front legs. *Minmi* probably moved relatively slowly on four legs, based on its estimated mass and its leg length as determined by scientists from fossilized tracks.Its neck was short and its skull wide with a small brain.

## Paleobiology

Minmi was a small armoured dinosaur, classified in Ankylosauria (too primitive to be included in either the Ankylosauridae or Nodosauridae), that was quadrupedal and had a long tail. As with other ankylosaurians, Minmi was herbivorous. Unlike most herbivorous dinosaurs, there is direct evidence of the diet of Minmi: gut contents are known from the well-preserved nearly complete Minmi sp. specimen, found in the abdominal cavity in front of the left ilium. The gut contents consist of fragments of fibrous or vascular plant tissue, fruiting bodies, spherical seeds, and vesicular tissue (possibly from fern sporangia). The most common remains are the fibrous or vascular fragments, which are typically rather uniform in size at 0.6 to 2.7 millimetres (0.02 to 0.11 in) long and have clean cuts at their ends, perpendicular to a given fragment's long axis. Because of the small size of the fragments, they have been interpreted as having been nibbled from plants or chopped in the mouth, evidence of some method of retaining food in the mouth. These small fragments may have come from twigs or stems, but their size is more suggestive of vascular bundles in leaves. The clean cuts and lack of gastroliths suggest that the animal relied on oral processing instead of gastroliths or grit to grind food. The seeds (0.3 mm [0.01 in] across) and fruiting bodies (4.5 mm [0.18 in] across) were apparently swallowed whole. Comparison to gut contents and scat from modern herbivorous lizard, emu, and goose indicates that this Minmi individual had a more sophisticated process for cutting up plant material.It had bony protrusions, also known as body armour, on its head, back, abdomen, legs and along the tail. Several types of armour are known in place in Minmi sp., including small ossicles, small keeled scutes on the body, large scutes without keels on the snout, large keeled scutes on the neck, shoulders, and possibly tail, spike-like scutes on the hips, and a combination of ridged and keeled scutes and triangular plates on the tail. There was one preserved ring of scutes around the neck. The arrangement of armour is unclear on the tail, although the triangular plates may have run on the sides of the tail, with long scutes forming a row along the top of the tail.However, unlike other ankylosaurians, Minmi had horizontal plates of bones that ran along the sides of its vertebrae (hence its species name, M. paravertebra).

## JPInstitute.com Description

Minmi was unique in two ways. It is the most complete dinosaur yet discovered in Australia, and it has the shortest name of any dinosaur.

Minmi was a small member of the family of plant-eating armored dinosaurs that also included Ankylosaurus. It had several features not seen before on armored dinosaurs, such as bony armor on its underside, and it may have lacked any kind of spines or spikes on its neck and shoulders.

Recent studies have also uncovered stomach contents associated with this dinosaur. This amazing discovery led to the first reliable analysis of an herbivore's diet. It also proved that ankylosaurs were herbivorous and that their diet consisted of soft plant materials, such as leaves, fruit, and small stems. The size of the material in its stomach also suggests that it had cheeks that allowed it to chew its food before it swallowed.

Minmi was the first ankylosaur discovered in Australia. Ankylosaurs normally had shoulder spines, but none were found with this fossil. This may be due to the way in which it became fossilized and doesn't necessarily mean that it never had any.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* Minmi is number 61 of the Herbivore Ones that can be created in Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.
* A new figure of Minmi will be released as part of the toyline for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
* Minmi appeared in the video game Jurassic World Evolution 2.

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20030813083650/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_minmi.html