Palaeontologia africana

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ISSN (print): 0078-8554 ISSN (electronic): 2410-4418 For queries regarding content of Palaeontologia africana collections please contact Jonah Choiniere by email : jonah.choiniere@wits.ac.za or Tel : 011 717 6684

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Author: search.filters.author.Moopen, AtashniSubject: search.filters.subject.Norian

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    Anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of a possible lessemsaurid with associated plant fossils from the lower part of the Elliot Formation
    (Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2023) Moopen, Atashni; Matiwane, Aviwe; Viglietti, Pia A; Choiniere, Jonah N
    The Elliot Formation forms the middle layer of the Stormberg Group of South Africa and ranges in age from the Upper Triassic to the Lower Jurassic. This stratigraphic unit bears a rich and varied faunal assemblage, including a wide variety of vertebrate fossils, the most abundant of which are sauropodomorph dinosaurs. While Early Jurassic sauropodomorphs are increasingly well-known, our knowledge of Late Triassic sauropodomorphs from the lower Elliot Formation is still at a deficit. Specimens from this section of the Stormberg Group can provide key information on the early evolution of Sauropodomorpha. Here we report on a new specimen of a Late Triassic sauropodomorph from a locality a short distance above the Molteno – Elliot boundary making it among the stratigraphically lowest sauropodomorphs from South Africa. Phylogenetic analyses and body mass estimations indicate the specimen represents a medium-to-large-bodied possible lessemsaurid with a combination of plesiomorphic and derived characters. This specimen adds to the diversity of the lower Elliot Formation and provides stronger support for a biogeographical link between the Elliot Formation and the Los Colorados Formation of Argentina. This skeletally immature possible lessemsaurid also provides insight into body size evolution during the Norian, a critical time for the evolution of sauropodomorph gigantism. The fossil plant genera Taeniopteris and Cladophlebis were recovered from sediments containing the sauropodomorph specimen, documenting one of the first co-occurrences of dinosaurs and plant material in the Elliot Formation, as well as preserving direct evidence of plant-insect interactions.