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Sefapanosaurus
''Sefapanosaurus'' was an early, herbivorous sauropodomorph dinosaur occurring in the southern regions of Gondwana some 200 million years ago in the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic. The sauropodomorphs were the dominant terrestrial herbivores throughout much of the Mesozoic Era, from their origins in the mid-Triassic (approximately 230 Ma) until their decline and fall at the end of the Cretaceous (approximately 66 Ma). A distinctive feature of this dinosaur is the cross-shaped astragalus or talus bone in its ankle. The generic name is derived from the Sesotho word ''sefapano'', meaning ‘cross’ and the Greek word ''saurus'', meaning 'lizard'. The specific name refers to Zastron, the type locality, where the specimen was discovered. History of study This new genus was described in the 23 June 2015 issue of 'Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society' in an essay titled 'A new basal sauropodiform from South Africa and the phylogenetic relationships of basal sauropodomorphs'. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aardonyx
''Aardonyx'' (Afrikaans ''aard'', "earth" + Greek , "nail, claw") is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It is known from the type species ''Aardonyx celestae'' found from the Early Jurassic Elliot Formation of South Africa. ''A. celestae'' was named after Celeste Yates, who prepared much of the first known fossil material of the species. It has arm features that are intermediate between prosauropods and sauropods. Based on the structure of the hind limbs and pelvic girdle of ''Aardonyx'', the dinosaur normally moved bipedally but could drop to quadrupedal movement similar to ''Iguanodon''. It shares some attributes with giant quadrupedal sauropods like ''Apatosaurus''.Associated Press (November 11, 2009)Scientists: New dinosaur species found in South AfricaNPR. Australian paleontologist Adam Yates and his team's discovery of the genus was published online before print in ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B'' in November 2009, and was scheduled to appear in the March 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauropodomorph
Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, were quadrupedal, and became the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The ''prosauropods,'' which preceded the sauropods, were smaller and were often able to walk on two legs. The sauropodomorphs were the dominant terrestrial herbivores throughout much of the Mesozoic Era, from their origins in the Late Triassic (approximately 230 Ma) until their decline and extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. Description Sauropodomorphs were adapted to browsing higher than any other contemporary herbivore, giving them access to high tree foliage. This feeding strategy is supported by many of their defining characteristics, such as: a light, tiny skull on the end of a long neck (with ten or more elongated cervical vertebrae) a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massospondylidae
Massospondylidae is a family of early massopod dinosaurs that existed in Asia, Africa, North America, South America and AntarcticaHellert, Spencer M. "A New Basal Sauropodomorph from The Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of Antarctica." Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,. Vol. 44. No. 5. 2012. during the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic periods. Several dinosaurs have been classified as massospondylids over the years. The largest cladistic analysis of early sauropodomorphs, which was presented by Apaldetti and colleagues in November 2011, found '' Adeopapposaurus'', '' Coloradisaurus'', '' Glacialisaurus'', ''Massospondylus'', '' Leyesaurus'' and ''Lufengosaurus'' to be massospondylids. This result supports many previous analyses that tested fewer taxa. However, this analysis found the two recently described North American massopods, ''Sarahsaurus'' and '' Seitaad'', and the South African '' Ignavusaurus'' to nest outside Massospondylidae, as opposed to som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elliot Formation
The Elliot Formation is a geological formation and forms part of the Stormberg Group, the uppermost geological Stratigraphic unit, group that comprises the greater Karoo Supergroup. Outcrops of the Elliot Formation have been found in the northern Eastern Cape, southern Free State (province), Free State, and in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Outcrops and exposures are also found in several localities in Lesotho such as Qacha's Nek, Qacha's Neck, Hill Top, Quthing, and near the capital, Maseru. The Elliot Formation is further divided into the lower (LEF) and upper (UEF) Elliot formations to differentiate significant Sedimentology, sedimentological differences between these layers. The LEF is dominantly Late Triassic (Norian-Hettangian) in age while the UEF is mainly Early Jurassic (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian) and is tentatively regarded to preserve a continental record of the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, Triassic-Jurassic boundary in southern Africa. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massopoda
Massopoda is a clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs which lived during the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous epochs. It was named by paleontologist Adam M. Yates of the University of the Witwatersrand in 2007. Massopoda is a stem-based taxon, defined as all animals more closely related to ''Saltasaurus loricatus'' than to ''Plateosaurus engelhardti''. The name Massopoda, ; , is also contraction of Massospondylidae and Sauropoda, two disparate taxa in the clade. Classification Yates assigned the Massopoda to Plateosauria. Within the clade, he assigned the families Massospondylidae (which includes the relatively well-known dinosaur ''Massospondylus'') and Riojasauridae (which includes ''Riojasaurus'') as well as the Sauropoda. The following is a cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glacialisaurus
''Glacialisaurus'' is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur. It lived during the Pliensbachian stage of the Early Jurassic period around 186 to 182 million years ago in what is now the central region of the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. It is known from two specimens; the holotype (name-bearing specimen), a partial tarsus (ankle) and metatarsus, and a partial left femur. The fossils were collected by a team led by paleontologist William R. Hammer during a 1990–91 field expedition to the Hanson Formation of Antarctica. They were described in 2007, and made the basis of the new genus and species ''Glacialisaurus hammeri''. The genus name translates as “icy” or "frozen lizard”, and the species name honors Hammer. This dinosaur has been classified as a massospondylid, a group of medium-sized, basal (early diverging or "primitive") sauropodomorphs that existed during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic on every continent except Australia. Its length has been estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coloradisaurus
''Coloradisaurus'' (meaning "Los Colorados lizard") is a genus of massospondylid sauropodomorph dinosaur. It lived during the Late Triassic period ( Norian stage) in what is now La Rioja Province, Argentina. It is known from two specimens collected from the Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin. Taxonomy ''Coloradisaurus brevis'' was originally named ''Coloradia brevis'' by José Bonaparte in 1978, but that genus name was preoccupied by the pine moth '' Coloradia'', so it needed a replacement name. In 1983, David Lambert used the name ''Coloradisaurus'' for the genus, but did not indicate it was a replacement or diagnose it. Lambert had gotten the name from Bonaparte in a personal communication and mistakenly thought that Bonaparte had already published it. Peter Galton was the next to use the name ''Coloradisaurus'' in 1990, which he credited to Lambert, when he gave the taxon a diagnosis in his review of prosauropods in ''The Dinosauria''. Autho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seitaad
''Seitaad'' is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now southern Utah, United States. ''Seitaad'' is known from an articulated partial postcranial holotype skeleton referred to as UMNH VP 18040. The skeleton is missing its head, neck and tail. It was collected from the Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, the uppermost unit of the Glen Canyon Group, dating to the Pliensbachian stage, near Comb Ridge, San Juan County. A phylogenetic study of ''Seitaad'' found it to be a plateosaur sauropodomorph, placing it in Massospondylidae or alternatively (a less probable position) in Plateosauridae, but its placement within the Plateosauria is not well understood. In a cladistic analysis, presented by Apaldetti and colleagues in November 2011, ''Seitaad'' was found to be within Massopoda, just outside Anchisauria. ''Seitaad'' was first described by Joseph J. W. Sertich and Mark A. Loewen in 2010 and the type species is ''Seitaad ruessi' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jingshanosaurus Xinwaensis
''Jingshanosaurus'' (meaning "Jingshan lizard") is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the early Jurassic period 201.3 million years ago that went extinct 199.3 million years ago in the Hettangian Age. Its maximum weight was around 4.3 t with an adult femur length of 845 mm. ''Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis'' grew to be 5 meters (16.4 ft) long. History of discovery Its fossils, a nearly complete skeleton including the skull, were found near the town of Jingshan ("Golden Hill"), Lufeng County, Yunnan Province, China, from which the name derives. First described in 1995, the type species is ''J. xinwaensis'', formalized by Zhang and Yang.Y. Zhang, and Z. Yang. (1995). ''A new complete osteology of Prosauropoda in Lufeng Basin, Yunnan, China''. Yunnan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Kunming, China 1-100. hinese/ref> Fossil remains of ''Jingshanosaurus'' had been exhibited in museums several years prior to the formal naming. A complete skeleton and skull of ''Jingsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jingshanosaurus
''Jingshanosaurus'' (meaning "Jingshan lizard") is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the early Jurassic period 201.3 million years ago that went extinct 199.3 million years ago in the Hettangian Age. Its maximum weight was around 4.3 t with an adult femur length of 845 mm. ''Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis'' grew to be 5 meters (16.4 ft) long. History of discovery Its fossils, a nearly complete skeleton including the skull, were found near the town of Jingshan ("Golden Hill"), Lufeng County, Yunnan Province, China, from which the name derives. First described in 1995, the type species is ''J. xinwaensis'', formalized by Zhang and Yang.Y. Zhang, and Z. Yang. (1995). ''A new complete osteology of Prosauropoda in Lufeng Basin, Yunnan, China''. Yunnan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Kunming, China 1-100. hinese/ref> Fossil remains of ''Jingshanosaurus'' had been exhibited in museums several years prior to the formal naming. A complete skeleton and skull of ''Jin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yunnanosaurus
''Yunnanosaurus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived approximately 199 to 183 million years ago in what is now the Yunnan Province, in China, for which it was named. ''Yunnanosaurus'' was a large sized, moderately-built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could also walk bipedally, and ranged in size from 7 meters (23 feet) long and 2 m (6.5 ft) high to 4 m (13 ft) high in the largest species. Discovery Yang Zhongjian (also known as C. C. Young) discovered the first ''Yunnanosaurus'' skeletons in the upper Zhangjiawa Member of the Lufeng Formation of Yunnan, China, dating to the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic. The fossil find was composed of over twenty incomplete skeletons, including two skulls, it was excavated by Tsun Yi Wang. These remains were the basis for the species ''Y. huangi'' (the type species) and ''Y. robustus.'' In 2007, Lü Junchang and colleagues described another species of ''Yunnano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
