Outline: a typical early sauropodomorph
Melanorosaurus
meh-LAN-oh-roh-SORE-us
"black mountain lizard"
Type species Melanorosaurus readi
- Lived
- 227 to 201 million years ago, Late Triassic
- Group
- Early sauropodomorphs
- Found in
- South Africa and Lesotho
- Named by
- Haughton 1924
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
210 million years ago
Field notes
About Melanorosaurus
What it was like
Melanorosaurus was a large, heavy plant eater, an early relative of the giant sauropods. It had thick, sturdy limbs and probably walked on all fours, unlike many of its lighter, two-legged relatives.
It had a long neck and tail and a small head, and it shows the kind of body that later sauropods would take to much larger sizes.
Its world
It lived in the Late Triassic in what is now South Africa and Lesotho. Its bones come from the Elliot Formation.
How it was found
Haughton named Melanorosaurus in 1924. A more complete skeleton with a skull was found later, which showed much more about how it looked.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Sauropodiformes
Sources: WikidataNamed in: S. H. Haughton. 1924. The fauna and stratigraphy of the Stormberg Series. Annals of the South African Museum 12:323-497