Aliwalia

from Aliwal (North)

• Aliwal · place name (Aliwal North, South Africa) · the town near the discovery site
• -ia · Latin · Latinised suffix meaning 'place of' or 'from'

Aliwalia is named after Aliwal North, the town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa near where the fossils were found. The type species, Aliwalia rex, adds the Latin word for "king". The name therefore refers to a place, not to any feature of the animal.

Named by

Galton

Year named

1985

Period

Late Triassic

Found in

Lower Elliot Formation, near Aliwal North, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Aliwalia rex is a large early sauropodomorph ("prosauropod") dinosaur. It is known from fragmentary remains. Some researchers have questioned whether it is distinct from related South African forms such as Eucnemesaurus, so its validity is debated. I am not certain of its current formal status, so I have left that field blank.