''Blikanasaurus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

sauropodomorph Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had lon ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

from the late

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. 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 The Elliot Formation is a geological formation and forms part of the Stormberg Group, the uppermost geological group that comprises the greater Karoo Supergroup. Outcrops of the Elliot Formation have been found in the northern Eastern Cape, south ...

outcrop localities in

. ''Blikanasaurus'' is only known from partial hindlimb bones that were recovered from the lower

(LEF) in the Eastern Cape.

History of discovery

''Blikanasaurus'' was first discovered by a partial hindlimb (epipodium and pes) found in the lower

(LEF) at the foot of Blikana mountain in Herschel, Eastern Cape of

around 1965. In the early 2000s, a second specimen - consisting of only a right

metatarsal The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the me ...

- was recovered from lower

deposits on the farm, Damplaats, in

Ladybrand Ladybrand is a small agricultural town in the Free State province of South Africa, situated 18 km from Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. Ladybrand is one of five towns that forms the Mantsopa Local Municipality. Founded in 1867 following th ...

of the eastern Free State. A possible ilium that has been attributed to ''Blikanasaurus'' was found recently, although this remains to be confirmed.

Description

As the two known ''Blikanasaurus'' specimens are extremely incomplete, very little is understood of this

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

. 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.

Classification

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

quadruped Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion where four limbs are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four limbs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin ''quattuor' ...

, unlike what is characteristic of more basal

sauropodomorphs Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had lon ...

. Due to this feature, ''Blikanasaurus'' was thought initially to be a basal sauropod. ''Blikanasaurus'' is now considered to be a basal

; however, due to the lack of complete specimens, little remains known about this enigmatic

. Some paleontologists claimed a case to group ''Blikanasaurus'' within the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Blikanasauridae, a family named by

Galton Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto- ...

and van Heerden in 1985, 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

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2266638 Sauropods Norian life Rhaetian life Late Triassic dinosaurs of Africa Triassic South Africa Fossils of South Africa Fossil taxa described in 1985