Blikanasaurus

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Blikanasaurus
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Pes from the holotype of B. cromptoni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Family: †Blikanasauridae
Galton & van Heerden, 1985
Genus: †Blikanasaurus
Galton & van Heerden, 1985
Species:
†B. cromptoni
Binomial name
†Blikanasaurus cromptoni
Galton & van Heerden, 1985

Blikanasaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the late Triassic of South Africa. The generic name Blikanasaurus is derived from Greek, meaning "lizard from Blikana". The species name cromptoni is taken from the surname of A.W. "Fuzz" Crompton, an American paleontologist who led numerous field expeditions in Elliot Formation outcrop localities in South Africa. Blikanasaurus is only known from partial hindlimb bones that were recovered from the lower Elliot Formation (LEF) in the Eastern Cape.[1]

History of discovery

Blikanasaurus was first discovered by a partial

Herschel, Eastern Cape of South Africa in c. 1965.[2][3] In the early 2000s, a second specimen - consisting of only a right metatarsal - was recovered from lower Elliot Formation deposits on the farm, Damplaats, in Ladybrand of the eastern Free State.[4][5][6] A possible ilium
that has been attributed to Blikanasaurus was found recently, although its attribution to Blikanasaurus remains to be confirmed.

Description

As the two known Blikanasaurus specimens are extremely incomplete, very little is understood of this sauropodomorph taxon. The only information that has been deduced is from the bones of its hindlimb anatomy, which are heavily built. This suggests that Blikanasaurus was thickly set and robust.[7][8][9]

Classification

Due to its robust build, Blikanasaurus is hypothesized to have been an obligate

Blikanasauridae, a family named by Galton and van Heerden in 1985,[11] however, this family has not been formally accepted due to it lacking definitive taxa. The cladogram below displays the currently accepted systematics between Blikanasaurus and other sauropodomorphs.[12]

Sauropodiformes

References

  1. doi:10.2113/175.1.73
    .
  2. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1965.tb00944.x
    .
  3. doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(85)80003-6
    .
  4. PMID 12965005
    .
  5. hdl:10539/16435
    .
  6. hdl:10539/13807
    .
  7. S2CID 86366057
    .
  8. ^ Upchurch, P.; Barrett, P. M.; Galton, P. M. (2007). Barrett, P. M.; Batten, D. J. (eds.). "A phylogenetic analysis of basal sauropodomorph relationships: Implications for the origin of sauropod dinosaurs". Special Papers in Palaeontology. 77: 57–90. Archived from the original on 2016-06-18. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  9. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2016.08.004
    .
  10. PMID 26855874
    .
  11. doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(85)80003-6
    .
  12. S2CID 49669597
    .
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