| Ajnabia Temporal range: Late Maastrichtian,
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|---|---|
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| Maxilla of Ajnabia odysseus from the late Maastrichtian of Morocco | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Neornithischia |
| Clade: | †Ornithopoda |
| Family: | †Hadrosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Lambeosaurinae |
| Tribe: | †Arenysaurini |
| Genus: | †Ajnabia Longrich et al., 2021 |
| Type species | |
| †Ajnabia odysseus Longrich et al., 2021
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Ajnabia (meaning "stranger" or "foreigner") is a genus of lambeosaurine hadrosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Morocco. It is the first definitive hadrosaur from Africa, and is thought to be related to European dinosaurs like Arenysaurus.[1] The discovery of Ajnabia came as a surprise to the paleontologists who found it, because Africa was isolated by water from the rest of the world during the Cretaceous, such that hadrosaurs were assumed to have been unable to reach the continent.[2][3] Ajnabia is relatively small and similar in size to its contemporary relative Minqaria, which is estimated to have reached 3.5 metres (11 ft) in total body length.[4] Assuming that the holotype represents an adult, Ajnabia would be one of the smallest if not the smallest known hadrosaurids.
- ^ Longrich, Nicholas R.; Suberbiola, Xabier Pereda; Pyron, R. Alexander; Jalil, Nour-Eddine (2021). "The first duckbill dinosaur (Hadrosauridae: Lambeosaurinae) from Africa and the role of oceanic dispersal in dinosaur biogeography". Cretaceous Research. 120: 104678. Bibcode:2021CrRes.12004678L. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104678. S2CID 228807024.
- ^ Southworth, Phoebe (November 5, 2020). "Dinosaurs swam across oceans, landmark study reveals". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "New fossil discovery suggests dinosaurs traveled across oceans". www.msn.com.
- ^ Longrich, N. R.; Pereda-Suberbiola, X.; Bardet, N.; Jalil, N.-E. (2024). "A new small duckbilled dinosaur (Hadrosauridae: Lambeosaurinae) from Morocco and dinosaur diversity in the late Maastrichtian of North Africa". Scientific Reports. 14 (1). 3665. Bibcode:2024NatSR..14.3665L. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-53447-9. PMC 10864364. PMID 38351204.