Melanorosaurus readi

Melanorosaurus was a medium size sauropodomorph from the Upper Triassic of South Africa, represented by the species M. readi. With its sturdy apparence, it was probably quadrupedal. Melanorosaurus was long known only from postcranial elements until a complete skull is described in 2007. A second species from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) in Lesotho, M. thabanensis, has been described from an isolated right femur.

Name

Melanorosaurus readi

Authority

Haughton, 1924

Meaning of generic name

Black Mountain Lizard

[melan - oro - saurus, not just **melano - saurus!]

Size

Length: 7.5 m , Skull length: ?

Remains

Holotype (SAM 3449-3450): Set of postcranial skeletons.

Referred specimens: NM QR3314, NM 1551.

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Lower Elliot Formation, Up. Triassic (Late Carnian-Norian).

Locality: Thaba 'Nyama, Herschel, Cape Province, South Africa.

Classification

Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Anchisauria

Further Reading

S. H. Haughton. 1924. The fauna and stratigraphy of the Stormberg Series. Annals of the South African Museum 12:323-497.

Yates, Adam M., 2007. The first complete skull of the Triassic dinosaur Melanorosaurus Haughton (Sauropodomorpha: Anchisauria). In Barrett & Batten (eds.), Evolution and Palaeobiology (2007), pp. 9–55.

Synonyms

Roccosaurus tetrascralis Van Herdeen vide Kitching & Raath, 1984 (nomen nudum)

Image by Nobu Tamura (click to enlarge)

Melanorosaurus readi: