Afromimus

Afromimus (meaning "Africa mimic") is a genus of ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Elrhaz Formation of Niger. It contains a single species, A. tenerensis, named in 2017 by Paul Sereno from parts of the right leg, vertebrae, and ribs found in the Ténéré Desert. It was originally described as a genus of ornithomimosaurian, but subsequent arguments have placed it as a taxon within or close to the superfamily Abelisauroidea.

==Discovery and naming== The only known specimen of Afromimus is a partial skeleton consisting of seven (originating from the middle of the tail and estimated to be the 15th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, 24th, and 27th tail vertebrae), bones from the right hindlimb (the , , , and ), and part of a rib, all found within a radius of . It was discovered in 1997 at the Gadoufaoua locality in the Elrhaz Formation, in the Ténéré Desert of Niger. The specimen is catalogued as MNBH GAD112 in the Musée National Boubou Hama, the national museum of Niger in the city of Niamey. Since the specimen was exposed to the elements when it was found, it may have been more complete when it was still buried. The hindlimb elements were discovered in place, although they were weathered; the tail vertebrae were out of place, and the last vertebra in the sequence was found several meters away from the rest of the specimen.