Sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the early Gondwana Mesozoic: connections between Brazil and Africa

• Grant number: 16/18011-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2017
• End date: April 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Paleozoology
• Principal Investigator: Max Cardoso Langer
• Grantee: Blair Wayne Mcphee
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/03825-3 - The origin and rise of dinosaurs in Gondwana (late Triassic - early Jurassic), AP.TEM

Abstract

This project aims to further our understanding of the record of near-sauropodan Sauropodomorphs ('Prosauropods') from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic of the Karoo basin in South Africa. Initially, the project will focus on several new specimens, including the "Highland Giant" (the largest dinosaur thus far discovered in the Karoo basin), a new 'Melanorosaurid', as well as the completion of a full osteological description of Pulanesaura eocollum. In addition to assessing their phylogenetic relationships and relevance to the origins of Sauropoda, these specimens will also contribute to an updated Sauropodomorph-based biostratigraphy of South Africa's Elliot Formation. Moreover, specimens of the earliest Sauropodomorphs (from the Santa Maria Sequence in South Brazil) will be incorporated into the phylogenetic analyses in order to more accurately anchor the basal-most signal of the group, as well as working towards a more holistic approach to Sauropodomorph evolution during the early Mesozoic. (AU)