Ledumahadi

Say it like this: “leh-DOO-muh-HA-dee”

Ledumahadi mafube

Ledumahadi ate plants and walked on two or four legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in South Africa.

Quiz me on Ledumahadi

When: Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
Named in: 2018 · McPhee, B. W.; Benson, R. B. J.; Botha-Brink, J.; Bordy, E. M.; Choiniere, J. N.
Hip height: 2 m · 7 ft
Length: 10.8 m · 35 ft
Weight: 12 tonnes
Found in: South Africa · Elliot
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
Family branch: Lessemsauridae

The story in short

Ledumahadi was formally named in 2018 by B. W. McPhee and colleagues. The name means “giant thunderclap.”

Fossils referred to Ledumahadi date to the Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian), roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago. Finds come from South Africa, including the Elliot Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Ledumahadi at a length near 10.8 m, hips about 2 m high, and a body mass around 12 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Lessemsauridae, among the early long-necked dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Antetonitrus

Antetonitrus ingenipes

Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago

Ingentia

Ingentia prima

Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago

Lessemsaurus

Lessemsaurus sauropoides

Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago