Moopen, AtashniMatiwane, AviweViglietti, Pia AChoiniere, Jonah N2023-11-232023-11-2320232410-4418https://hdl.handle.net/10539/37131The 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.enLate Triassicplant fossilsTaeniopterisCladophlebisNorianstormberg groupMain Karoo BasinArticle