Lamplughsaura

Lamplughsaura was an early sauropod from the Early Jurassic Dharmaram Formation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India. Discovered in deposits containing several partial skeletons, this animal reached roughly ten metres in length and weighed around two to three tonnes. Unlike earlier, bipedal sauropodomorphs, Lamplughsaura possessed heavily built, column-like limbs that show it was an obligate quadruped. However, its vertebrae and limb proportions still retain primitive traits that place it right near the anatomical transition from prosauropod-grade ancestors to true sauropods. It shared its environment with the basal sauropodomorph Pradhania and medium-sized predatory theropods. Lamplughsaura represents an important milestone documenting how sauropods took on large body sizes and four-legged locomotion early in the Jurassic.

Named in honour of Pamela Lamplugh Robinson, who established vertebrate palaeontology research at the Indian Statistical Institute.

Where and when

Lamplughsaura lived in the Early Jurassic, from 199 to 190 million years ago (Sinemurian age). Its remains come from India, in the Dharmaram Formation.

The numbers

Length 10 m (estimates run from 9 to 11 m). Mass about 2.6 t. Hip height about 2.5 m. That is 5.9 human-lengths, or 0.89 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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