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Kotasaurus

Yadagiri, 1988 KOH-tuh-SOR-uhs /ˌkoʊtəˈsɔːrəs/

Named for the Kota Formation of Telangana, India, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard', hence 'Kota Formation lizard'. The species name refers to Yamanpalli, the village near the discovery site.

199.5–184.2 million years ago Sinemurian–Pliensbachian, Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic stages

Kotasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic period (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian). The only known species is Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis. It was discovered in the Kota Formation of Telangana, India and shared its habitat with the related Barapasaurus. So far the remains of at least 12 individuals are known. The greater part of the skeleton is known, but the skull is missing, with the exception of two teeth. Four tail clubs, each formed of at least two co-ossified distal caudal vertebrae, were collected with the Yamanpalli material and referred to Kotasaurus on that association; comparable clubs are known in Shunosaurus and Omeisaurus, and are interpreted as weapons for intraspecific combat or defense.

Diagnosis

  1. Dorsal neural spines simple, without spinal laminae.
  2. No pneumatocoel at the base of the neural arch opening into the neural canal.
  3. Iliac blade low.
  4. Proximal surface of the scapula narrow.
  5. Limb bones relatively slender, with the femur retaining the lesser trochanter.
  6. Chevrons V-shaped, with well-developed articular facets on the dorsolateral corners.

Species

Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis Yadagiri, 1988

Type species

Named for Yamanpalli, the village in Telangana, India near which the fossil material was discovered.

Holotype
21/SR/PAL , Geological Survey of India
Material
An ilium.
Horizon
lower Kota Formation, Sinemurian–Pliensbachian, Early Jurassic , 199.5–184.2 million years ago
Locality
Yamanpalli, Telangana, India

References

  1. Bandyopadhyay, S.; Gillette, D. D.; Ray, S.; Sengupta, D. P. (2010). Osteology of Barapasaurus tagorei (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Early Jurassic of India. Palaeontology 53(3): 533-569. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00933.x

    Places Barapasaurus and Kotasaurus in "the lower part of the Kota Formation".

    bandyopadhyay2010a
  2. Yadagiri, P. (1988). A new sauropod Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis from Lower Jurassic Kota Formation of India. Records of the Geological Survey of India 116(3-8): 102-127.

    The article's own header prints "Vol. 11, Pts. 3-8", probably a typographical error for volume 116; most later citations follow the header's 11.

    yadagiri1988a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate and of the elongate neck.

    jones2026b
  4. Yadagiri, P. (2001). The osteology of Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis, a sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Kota Formation of India. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21(2): 242-252. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2001)021[0242:TOOKYA]2.0.CO;2

    Emended diagnosis and osteological description drawn from at least twelve individuals; names Yamanpalli as the excavation and places it 40 km north of the Barapasaurus type locality.

    yadagiri2001a
  5. Kareem, T. A.; Chakraborty, S.; Wilson Mantilla, J. A. (2024). Sauropod tail clubs from the Kota Formation (Lower to Middle Jurassic) of India and their implications for early sauropod evolution. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 44(1): e2396814. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2396814

    Describes four tail clubs of co-ossified distal caudal vertebrae, referred to Kotasaurus because they were collected with the rest of the Yamanpalli material; treats that attribution as unresolved.

    kareem2024a