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early long-neck
Sefapanosaurus
Say it like this: “SEF-uh-PAR-no-SOR-us”
Sefapanosaurus zastronensis
Sefapanosaurus ate plants and walked on two or four legs. It lived in the Late Triassic · Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in South Africa.
- When
- Late Triassic · Early Jurassic (Norian · Rhaetian · Hettangian) · roughly 227.3 to 199.5 million years ago
- Named in
- 2015 · Otero, A.; Krupandan, E.; Pol, D.; Chinsamy, A.; Choiniere, J.
- Hip height
- 1.5 m · 5 ft
- Length
- 4 m · 13 ft
- Weight
- 200 kg · 441 lb
- Found in
- South Africa · Elliot
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two or four legs
- Kind
- early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
- Family branch
- Sauropodiformes
The story in short
The genus Sefapanosaurus dates to 2015, the year A. Otero and colleagues described it. The name means “cross lizard.”
Fossils referred to Sefapanosaurus date to the Late Triassic · Early Jurassic (Norian · Rhaetian · Hettangian), roughly 227.3 to 199.5 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 Sefapanosaurus at a length near 4 m, hips about 1.5 m high, and a body mass around 200 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Sauropodiformes, among the early long-necked dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Aardonyx
Aardonyx celestae
Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
Anchisaurus
Anchisaurus polyzelus
Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
Blikanasaurus
Blikanasaurus cromptoni
Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago