Minmi

Minmi was a small ankylosaurian dinosaur that lived in what is now Queensland, Australia, during the Early Cretaceous Period, roughly 120 to 112 million years ago. This compact herbivore belonged to a unique lineage of Australian armored dinosaurs that evolved in relative isolation on the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.

What makes Minmi remarkable among ankylosaurs is its unusual arrangement of bony armor. While most armored dinosaurs had osteoderms (bony plates) embedded in their skin along their backs and sides, Minmi possessed additional horizontal bony plates called paravertebrae running alongside its backbone—a feature so distinctive it earned the dinosaur its species name. Even more unusual, Minmi had armor protecting its belly, something rarely seen in ankylosaurs.

The holotype specimen was discovered in 1964 by Alan Bartholomai near the Minmi Crossing on Collinsville-Mackay road in Queensland, with the genus formally named by Ralph Molnar in 1980. The discovery was significant as it represented the first armored dinosaur found in the Southern Hemisphere with substantial remains. Additional specimens, including an exceptionally complete individual, have since been found in the Bungil Formation.

Minmi was likely a slow-moving browser, feeding on low-growing vegetation in the floodplain environments of Cretaceous Australia. Its small size and heavy armor suggest it relied on passive defense rather than speed to survive against predators like Australovenator.