Antetonitrus

before the thunder

• ante · Latin · before
• tonitrus · Latin · thunder

The name means "before the thunder" in Latin. It was chosen because this early sauropodomorph lived before the giant "thunder lizards", the true sauropods such as Brontosaurus. It is a very early, near-sauropod relative of those later giants.

Named by

Yates and Kitching

Year named

2003

Period

Late Triassic

Stages

Norian – Rhaetian

Found in

Lower Elliot Formation, Free State, South Africa

Its exact position is debated: it is either a basal sauropod or a close relative just outside Sauropoda (a sauropodiform). The stage range is approximate because the age of the Lower Elliot Formation is uncertain. Some researchers have suggested it may be synonymous with Gryponyx, but this is not widely accepted.