Genus
Valid Extinct

Antetonitrus

Yates and Kitching 2003
Etymology Avant le tonnerre

Antetonitrus is a genus of sauropodiform dinosaur found in the Early Jurassic Elliot Formation of South Africa. The only species is Antetonitrus ingenipes. Sometimes considered a basal sauropod, it is crucial for the understanding of the origin and early evolution of this group. It was a quadrupedal herbivore, like its later relatives, but shows primitive adaptations to use the forelimbs for grasping, instead of purely for weight support.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Antetonitrus
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Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Saurischia Unranked clade
Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
Massopoda Unranked clade
Sauropodiformes Unranked clade
Sauropoda Unranked clade
Lessemsauridae Unranked clade
Antetonitrus Genus
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇿🇦 South Africa
2
Geological formations
Elliot
2
Temporal distribution
Sinemurian (199.5–192.9 Ma)
2
Species (1)
Antetonitrus ingenipes 201 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
A. M. Yates and J. W. Kitching. 2003. The earliest known sauropod dinosaur and the first steps towards sauropod locomotion. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 270(1525):1753-1758 DOI ↗
Bibliography (2)
B. W. McPhee, A. M. Yates, and J. N. Choiniere, F. Abdala. 2014. The complete anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Antetonitrus ingenipes (Sauropodiformes, Dinosauria): implications for the origins of Sauropoda. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171(1):151-205 DOI ↗
A. M. Yates and J. W. Kitching. 2003. The earliest known sauropod dinosaur and the first steps towards sauropod locomotion. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 270(1525):1753-1758 DOI ↗