Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI)

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Subject: search.filters.subject.upper Elliot Formation

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    A new specimen of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Ignavusaurus rachelis from the Early Jurassic of Lesotho
    (Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2020-12-11) Bodenham, Ewan H; Barrett, Paul M
    The upper Elliot Formation (?Rhaetian–Sinemurian) of South Africa and Lesotho has yielded a rich fauna of non-avian dinosaurs, which has generally been considered to be dominated by the massopodan sauropodomorph Massospondylus carinatus. However, re-evaluation of the abundant sauropodomorph collections from this unit suggests that the species-richness of upper Elliot sites has been underestimated. Here, we describe a series of cervical and dorsal vertebrae collected from Likhoele Mountain, Lesotho, which are referred to the rare upper Elliot sauropodomorph taxon Ignavusaurus rachelis. This material represents only the second-known specimen of this taxon, extending its geographic range, and underscores the value of undertaking detailed re-assessments of neglected historical collections.
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    Massospondylus carinatus Owen 1854 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Lower Jurassic of South Africa: Proposed conservation of the usage by designation of a neotype
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2010-12) Yates, Adam M.; Barrett, Paul M.
    The purpose of this article is to preserve the usage of the binomen Massospondylus carinatus by designating a neotype specimen. Massospondylus is the most abundant basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic strata of southern Africa. This taxon forms the basis for an extensive palaeobiological literature and is the eponym of Massospondylidae and the nominal taxon of a biostratigraphical unit in current usage, the ‘Massospondylus Range Zone’. The syntype series of M. carinatus (five disarticulated and broken vertebrae) was destroyed during World War II, but plaster casts and illustrations of the material survive. Nonetheless, these materials cannot act as type material for this taxon under the rules of the ICZN Code. In order to avoid nomenclatural instability, we hereby designate BP/1/4934 (a skull and largely complete postcranial skeleton) as the neotype of Massospondylus carinatus.