Open Paleo

Pulanesaura

McPhee et al., 2015 PU-lan-SOR-ruh

From Sesotho 'Pulane' meaning 'rain-maker/bringer' (in reference to the heavy rain conditions during collection) and Latin 'saura' (feminine of sauros) meaning 'lizard'.

201.4–192.9 million years ago Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic stages

Pulanesaura is an extinct genus of basal sauropodiform known from the Early Jurassic (late Hettangian to Sinemurian) Upper Elliot Formation of the Free State, South Africa. It contains a single species, Pulanesaura eocollum, known from partial remains of at least two subadult to adult individuals.

Under dispute

Pulanesaura eocollum is recovered just outside the clade of Vulcanodon and Eusauropoda, and outside Gravisauria, in most analyses (McPhee and colleagues, 2015, 2017; Rauhut and colleagues, 2020; Zhang and colleagues, 2020; Hu and colleagues, 2026). Whether that makes it a sauropod depends on the definition of Sauropoda. It is the earliest-diverging sauropod under the stem-based definition of Yates (2007), all taxa closer to Saltasaurus than to Melanorosaurus, which Pol and colleagues (2022) and Rincón and colleagues (2022) use. It is the sister of Sauropoda under the node-based definition of Salgado and colleagues (1997), which McPhee and colleagues (2017), Rauhut and colleagues (2020) and Barrett and Choiniere (2024) use.

Diagnosis

  1. High anteriorly inclined neural spine
  2. Prezygapophyses mediolaterally extensive and sheet-like
  3. Anterior infradiapophyseal fossae with externally constricted, medially-tapering 'pinched' morphology
  4. Teeth with apicobasal grooves on both labial and lingual surfaces, denticles restricted to apical third
  5. Anterior-to-middle cervical vertebrae with anteroposteriorly short and dorsoventrally high neural spines
  6. Dorsoventrally tall neural spines in anterior dorsal vertebrae, approximately three times taller than anteroposteriorly long
  7. Middle-to-posterior dorsal neural arches with neural spines over 1.6 times as high as long
  8. Anterior caudal vertebra with incipient prezygadiapophyseal laminae
  9. Mediolaterally expansive radial fossa on proximal ulna
  10. Tibia with proximal surface over twice as long anteroposteriorly than transversely wide

Species

Pulanesaura eocollum McPhee et al., 2015

Type species

From Greek 'eo' meaning 'dawn' and Latin 'collum' meaning 'neck', referring to Pulanesaura being a very basal sauropod that had not yet evolved the characteristically elongated neck of more derived sauropods.

Holotype
BP/1/6982 , Evolutionary Studies Institute (formerly Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research), University of the Witwatersrand
Material
Neural arch of an anterior dorsal vertebra, missing the dorsal apex of the neural spine
Horizon
upper Elliot Formation, Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic , 201.4–192.9 million years ago
Locality
Sauropod Quarry, farm Spion Kop 932, Free State, South Africa

References

  1. McPhee, B. W.; Bonnan, M. F.; Yates, A. M.; Neveling, J.; Choiniere, J. N. (2015). A new basal sauropod from the pre-Toarcian Jurassic of South Africa: evidence of niche-partitioning at the sauropodomorph-sauropod boundary?. Scientific Reports 5(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/srep13224

    Named Pulanesaura and recovered it as the sister of Vulcanodon plus later sauropods, a sauropod or not depending on the definition used.

    mcphee2015a
  2. McPhee, B. W.; Choiniere, J. N. (2017). The osteology of Pulanesaura eocollum: implications for the inclusivity of Sauropoda (Dinosauria). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx074

    Redescribed Pulanesaura, retaining the 2015 diagnosis and confirming holotype BP/1/6982; prefers a node-based Sauropoda, under which Pulanesaura is its sister.

    mcphee2017a
  3. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length and mass estimates.

    paul2024a
  4. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate; places the genus in Sauropoda under the stem-based definition the book adopts.

    jones2026b
  5. Rauhut, O. W. M.; Holwerda, F. M.; Furrer, H. (2020). A derived sauropodiform dinosaur and other sauropodomorph material from the Late Triassic of Canton Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Swiss Journal of Geosciences 113(1). Pensoft Publishers. doi:10.1186/s00015-020-00360-8

    Recovered Pulanesaura outside Sauropoda as defined node-based on Vulcanodon and Saltasaurus, among the sauropodiform outgroups.

    rauhut2020a
  6. Yates, A. M. (2007). Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology 19(1): 93-123. doi:10.1080/08912960600866953

    Proposed the stem-based definition of Sauropoda, all taxa closer to Saltasaurus than to Melanorosaurus.

    yates2007a
  7. Salgado, L.; Coria, R. A.; Calvo, J. O. (1997). Evolution of titanosaurid sauropods. I: phylogenetic analysis based on the postcranial evidence. Ameghiniana 34: 3-32.

    Gave the node-based definition of Sauropoda anchored on Vulcanodon.

    salgado1997a
  8. Zhang, Q. N.; Wang, T.; Yang, Z. W.; You, H. L. (2020). Redescription of the cranium of Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China. The Anatomical Record 303: 759-771. Wiley. doi:10.1002/ar.24113

    Recovered Pulanesaura as the sister of Isanosaurus plus a node-based Sauropoda.

    zhang2020a
  9. Hu, S. B.; Wang, Y. C.; Mo, X.; Zhang, X. Q.; Zeng, W. T.; Wang, T.; Sun, Z. B.; Dong, Q. X.; Guan, Q.; Liu, Y. H.; Zhang, Y. S.; Bing, Y.; Wang, Y. M.; You, H. L. (2026). A new sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic Fengjiahe Formation of Dali of Yunnan Province, China. Royal Society Open Science 13(3). The Royal Society. doi:10.1098/rsos.252219

    Recovered Pulanesaura as the sister of a node-based Sauropoda.

    hu2026a
  10. Barrett, P. M.; Choiniere, J. N. (2024). Melanorosaurus readi Haughton, 1924 (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of South Africa: osteology and designation of a lectotype. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 44(1): e2337802. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2337802

    Advocated the node-based definition of Sauropoda, which places Pulanesaura in the labile zone outside it.

    barrett2024b
  11. Pol, D.; Gomez, K.; Holwerda, F. M.; Rauhut, O. W. M.; Carballido, J. L. (2022). Sauropods from the Early Jurassic of South America and the Radiation of Eusauropoda. South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs: Record, Diversity and Evolution 131-163. Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95959-3_4

    Used the stem-based definition of Sauropoda, which includes Pulanesaura.

    pol2022a
  12. Rincón, A. F.; Raad Pájaro, D. A.; Jiménez Velandia, H. F.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Wilson Mantilla, J. A. (2022). A sauropod from the Lower Jurassic La Quinta Formation (Dept. Cesar, Colombia) and the initial diversification of eusauropods at low latitudes. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 42(1). Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.2077112

    Used the stem-based definition of Sauropoda, under which Pulanesaura is a sauropod.

    rincón2022a