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Melanorosaurus
Taxonomy
Melanorosaurus was named by Haughton (1924). Its type is Melanorosaurus readi. It is the type genus of Melanorosauridae. It was considered monophyletic by Yates (2007).
It was synonymized subjectively with Euskelosaurus by Heerden (1979), Cooper (1981).
It was assigned to Plateosauridae by Haughton (1924), Nopcsa (1928); to Prosauropoda by Kuhn (1939); to Saurischia by Huene (1940); to Sauropodomorpha by Benton (1990); to Melanorosauridae by Huene (1941), Haughton and Brink (1954), Romer (1956), Romer (1966), Charig (1967), Ellenberger (1970), Steel (1970), Anderson and Cruickshank (1978), Olsen and Galton (1984), Galton (1985), Battail (1986), Carroll (1988), Gauffre (1993), Heerden and Galton (1997), Galton and Van Heerden (1998), Galton and Upchurch (2004), Knoll (2004), Knoll (2005), Galton et al. (2005); to Sauropodomorpha by Smith and Pol (2007); to Anchisauria by Yates (2010); to Sauropoda by Yates (2007), Upchurch et al. (2007), Apaldetti et al. (2011); to Massopoda by Novas et al. (2011); and to Sauropodiformes by Otero and Pol (2013), McPhee et al. (2015), Barrett and Choiniere (2024).
It was synonymized subjectively with Euskelosaurus by Heerden (1979), Cooper (1981).
It was assigned to Plateosauridae by Haughton (1924), Nopcsa (1928); to Prosauropoda by Kuhn (1939); to Saurischia by Huene (1940); to Sauropodomorpha by Benton (1990); to Melanorosauridae by Huene (1941), Haughton and Brink (1954), Romer (1956), Romer (1966), Charig (1967), Ellenberger (1970), Steel (1970), Anderson and Cruickshank (1978), Olsen and Galton (1984), Galton (1985), Battail (1986), Carroll (1988), Gauffre (1993), Heerden and Galton (1997), Galton and Van Heerden (1998), Galton and Upchurch (2004), Knoll (2004), Knoll (2005), Galton et al. (2005); to Sauropodomorpha by Smith and Pol (2007); to Anchisauria by Yates (2010); to Sauropoda by Yates (2007), Upchurch et al. (2007), Apaldetti et al. (2011); to Massopoda by Novas et al. (2011); and to Sauropodiformes by Otero and Pol (2013), McPhee et al. (2015), Barrett and Choiniere (2024).
Species
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1924 | Melanorosaurus Haughton |
| 1928 | Melanorosaurus Nopcsa p. 183 |
| 1939 | Melanorosaurus Kuhn p. 67 |
| 1940 | Melanorosaurus Huene p. 263 |
| 1941 | Melanorosaurus Huene p. 141 |
| 1954 | Melanorosaurus Haughton and Brink p. 4 |
| 1956 | Melanorosaurus Romer p. 618 |
| 1966 | Melanorosaurus Romer p. 370 |
| 1967 | Melanorosaurus Charig p. 712 |
| 1970 | Melanorosaurus Ellenberger p. 346 |
| 1970 | Melanorosaurus Steel p. 57 |
| 1978 | Melanorosaurus Anderson and Cruickshank p. 31 |
| 1978 | Roccosaurus Anderson and Cruickshank p. 31 |
| 1978 | Roccosaurus Van Heerden |
| 1978 | Roccosaurus tetrasacralis van Heerden |
| 1984 | Melanorosaurus Olsen and Galton p. 91 |
| 1985 | Melanorosaurus Galton p. 672 |
| 1986 | Melanorosaurus Battail p. 49 |
| 1988 | Melanorosaurus Carroll |
| 1990 | Melanorosaurus Benton p. 23 |
| 1993 | Melanorosaurus Gauffre p. 650 |
| 1997 | Melanorosaurus Heerden and Galton |
| 1998 | Melanorosaurus Galton and Van Heerden p. 175 |
| 2004 | Melanorosaurus Galton and Upchurch p. 235 fig. 12.11 |
| 2004 | Melanorosaurus Knoll p. 76 |
| 2005 | Melanorosaurus Galton et al. p. 4 |
| 2005 | Melanorosaurus Knoll p. 85 |
| 2007 | Melanorosaurus Smith and Pol p. 668 fig. 7 |
| 2007 | Melanorosaurus Upchurch et al. p. 62 fig. 3 |
| 2007 | Melanorosaurus Yates p. 12 |
| 2010 | Melanorosaurus Yates p. 750 |
| 2011 | Melanorosaurus Apaldetti et al. p. 16 fig. 13 |
| 2011 | Melanorosaurus Novas et al. p. 341 fig. 4 |
| 2013 | Melanorosaurus Otero and Pol |
| 2015 | Melanorosaurus McPhee et al. p. 19 fig. 12 |
| 2024 | Melanorosaurus Barrett and Choiniere p. 4 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Melanorosaurus Haughton 1924
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†Melanorosaurus readi Haughton 1924
Invalid names: Roccosaurus Van Heerden 1978 [nomen nudum], Roccosaurus tetrasacralis van Heerden 1978 [nomen nudum]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: g = genus, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009, Peczkis 1995 | |||||
Age range: base of the Norian to the top of the Sinemurian or 227.30000 to 192.90000 Ma
Collections (9 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norian - Rhaetian | South Africa (Free State) | Prosauropoda indet. (106571) | |
| Norian - Rhaetian | Lesotho (Mohale's Hoek) | M. sp. (105770) | |
| Norian - Rhaetian | South Africa (Eastern Cape) | M. readi (36704) Roccosaurus tetrasacralis (36609) | |
| Norian - Rhaetian | Lesotho (Leribe) | M. sp. (106568) | |
| Norian - Rhaetian | Lesotho (Mafeteng) | M. sp. (107167) | |
| Norian - Rhaetian | Lesotho (Maseru) | M. sp. (107170) | |
| Hettangian - Sinemurian | South Africa (Free State) | M. sp. (39659) | |
| Hettangian - Sinemurian | Lesotho (Mafeteng) | Melanorosauridae indet. (149711) |