Ledumahadi

giant thunderclap

• ledumahadi · Sesotho · giant thunderclap / thunderbolt

The name comes from the Sesotho word for "a giant thunderclap" (or thunderbolt). It was chosen to evoke the tremor-like impact of such a huge animal walking. The species name, mafube, means "dawn" in Sesotho, so the full name Ledumahadi mafube is often rendered "a giant thunderclap at dawn".

Named by

McPhee et al.

Year named

2018

Period

Early Jurassic

Stage

Sinemurian

Found in

Upper Elliot Formation, near Clarens, Free State, South Africa

A large, probably quadrupedal, sauropodomorph (a close relative of true sauropods, not a sauropod itself). Type species is Ledumahadi mafube. It is one of the largest land animals known from the Early Jurassic.