Saurischian dinosaurs from the Elliot Formation of South Africa: Anatomy, ecology, and evolution

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Saurischian dinosaurs originated in the Triassic and experienced their initial radiation in the Upper Triassic / Lower Jurassic. However, although the appearance of coelophysoids in the Upper Triassic indicates that their sister group, which includes all later theropods, must have been around since then as well, they are virtually absent from the fossil record until the Middle Jurassic. Sauropodomorphs are common representatives of many vertebrate faunas of the Upper Triassic / Lower Jurassic, but, due to often incomplete preservation, neither their alpha taxonomy, nor their phylogenetic relationships are resolved, including the question of the origin and early evolution of sauropods. New material of early saurischians is therefore essential for a better understanding of the initial radiation of saurischians and the origin of major groups. The Upper Triassic Lower Elliot and Lower Jurassic Upper Elliot Formation of South Africa and Lesotho offer a unique opportunity to study saurischian faunas and their environmental context of that time. The Elliot Formation is renowned for its saurischian record, which, among others, includes the oldest known sauropods Antetonitrus and Blikanasaurus, but most taxa known are based on fragmentary material, making an evaluation of their taxonomic diversity and phylogenetic importance difficult. Thus, in the current project, intensive fieldwork in both parts of the Elliot Formation is planned in order to improve our knowledge of Late Triassic / Lower Jurassic saurischians.