Friday, 22 November 2013

Antetonitrus ingenipes

The name Antetonitrus means "before thunder" in reference to the early occurence of this sauropod with respect to Brontosaurus ("thunder lizard"). dating from the Upper Triassic, it is indeed the earliest known Sauropod although not the most primitive one. It had very sturdy limbs.

Name
Antetonitrus ingenipes
Authority
Yates & Kitching, 2003
Meaning of generic name
from Latin, ante (before) and tonitrus (thunder)
Meaning of specific name
from Latin, ingens (massive) and pes (paw, or foot)

[should have been ingentipes - Latin does not say **ingents or **peds but ingens and pes due to dental stop deletion before an ending -s]
Size
Length: 9 m, Skull length: ?
Remains
Holotype (BP/1/4952): partially articulated skeleton (vertebrae, ribs, partial forelimbs and hindlimbs)

Referred specimens: BP/1/4952b (some isolated bones).
Age and Distribution
Horizon: Lower Elliot Formation, Upper Triassic (Norian).

Locality: farms Welbedacht-Edelweiss, Ladybrand district, Free State, South Africa.
Classification
Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda
Further Reading
A. M. Yates and J. W. Kitching. 2003. The earliest known sauropod dinosaur and the first steps towards sauropod locomotion. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 270(1525):1753-1758.

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