Aardonyx

earth claw

• aard · Afrikaans · earth
• onyx · Greek · claw

The name combines the Afrikaans word for "earth" with the Greek word for "claw". It refers to the dirt/earth in which the fossils were found and to the claw-like hand and foot bones of this early sauropodomorph. The type species is Aardonyx celestae, named for Celeste Yates, who prepared the fossils.

Named by

Yates et al.

Year named

2009

Period

Early Jurassic

Stages

Hettangian – Sinemurian

Found in

Elliot Formation, Free State, South Africa

A basal sauropodomorph (close to the origin of true sauropods), showing transitional features between prosauropods and sauropods.