Jonah Choiniere – The Conversation

Eunotosaurus africanus.

May 28, 2026

Turtles finally have a place in the tree of life: X‑ray study of South African fossils was a decider

Valentin Buffa, University of Zurich; Jonah Choiniere, University of the Witwatersrand; Julien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand, and Xavier Jenkins, American Museum of Natural History

Palaeontologists have got a clearer picture of where turtles fit in the animal kingdom, thanks to analysis of a southern African fossil.

Artist reconstruction of Musankwa sanyatiensis (left). Atashni Moopen

June 14, 2024

Zimbabwe’s new dinosaur discovery: inside the find

Paul Barrett, Natural History Museum; Darlington Munyikwa, Midlands State University; Jonah Choiniere, University of the Witwatersrand; Kimberley E.J. Chapelle, University of the Witwatersrand; Lara Sciscio, Jurassica Museum, and Michel Zondo, University of the Witwatersrand

Musankwa is only the fourth dinosaur to be named from Zimbabwe.

Fossils of Shuvuuia deserti depict a small predatory creature with exceptional night vision and hearing. Mick Ellison/American Natural History Museum

May 6, 2021

Nocturnal dinosaurs: Night vision and superb hearing in a small theropod suggest it was a moonlight predator

Lars Schmitz, Scripps College; Jonah Choiniere, University of the Witwatersrand, and Roger Benson, University of Oxford

By looking at the eye bones and ear canals of extinct dinosaurs, researchers show that a small ancient predator likely hunted at night and had senses as good as a modern barn owl.

One of Kitching’s original find of eggs, after being prepared by Diane Scott. Supplied

June 22, 2015

Dinosaur eggs get ready to hatch their secrets – 200 million years later

Jonah Choiniere, University of the Witwatersrand

The secrets of the embryonic dinosaurs whose parents roamed South Africa 200 million years ago are finally in the process of being hatched.

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