''Ngwevu'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

massospondylid 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 ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

from the Lower Jurassic of

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 countri ...

. The genus contains one species, ''Ngwevu intloko.''

Discovery and naming

The genus ''Ngwevu'' is known from only one specimen, BP/1/4779, which is stored in the Environmental Studies Institute of the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

, in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa. The holotype specimen was discovered in 1978 by

James William Kitching James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

in the Tevrede Farm, located in

Fouriesburg Fouriesburg is a small town situated at the junction of the R711 and R26 routes in the eastern Free State, South Africa. It is near the Maluti Mountains and only 10 km from Caledon's Poort border post, which gives access to Lesotho. Hist ...

district, South Africa. The strata which preserved the specimen was located in the Clarens Formation, which is Pliensbachian-early

Toarcian The Toarcian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 182.7 Ma (million years ago) and 174.1 Ma. It follows the Pliensbachian and is followed by the Aalenian. The Toarcian ...

in age. The specimen was initially considered a specimen of the genus '' Massospondylus'' but in 2019 was designated as a new genus and species ''Ngwevu ntloko'' (pronounced "'Ng-g'where-voo" ; directly from Xhosa 'ngwevu' and 'intloko' meaning "grey skull").

Description

''Ngwevu'' can be distinguished from other sauropodomorphs based on a unique combination of 16 traits, including one unique feature: a ridge on the lateral surface of the backside of the . Previously, the specimen was noted to share some different traits compared to other ''Massospondylus'' specimens but the differences were considered a result of deformation. In the description of the new genus, it was revealed that these differences cannot be attributed to deformation, and in fact the specimen is well intact. Another hypothesis presumed the differences found in ''Ngwevu'' could be attributed to a less advanced ontogenetic stage, with some paleontologists considering it to be a younger specimen of ''Massospondylus''. However, histological study of the holotype of ''Ngwevu'' suggests it was an adult (about 10 years old) when it fossilized, rejecting this hypothesis as well. The describing authors of ''Ngwevu'' also noted that ''Ngwevu'' was proportionately more robust than specimens of ''Massospondylus.''

Phylogeny

Despite the fact that ''Ngwevu'' could be distinguished from ''Massospondylus'', there are several shared features between the two genera. A phylogenetic analysis conducted in the describing paper corroborates this, placing ''Ngwevu intloko'' in the Massospondylidae. A portion of the analysis is reproduced below.

Paleobiology

The snout of ''Ngwevu'' has been noted to have a wider snout than ''Massospondylus'', which has been proposed to be a sign of a more generalist diet as opposed to selective behavior. The cranium also has adaptations for a more powerful bite force than ''Massospondylus'' which lends more support to niche partititioning between the two taxa.

References

Massospondylidae Pliensbachian life Early Jurassic dinosaurs of Africa Jurassic South Africa Fossils of South Africa Fossil taxa described in 2019 {{Sauropodomorph-stub Toarcian life