Likhoelesaurus

Likhoe's lizard

• Likhoe'le · Sesotho · a place name in Lesotho (the Likhoe'le area)
• saurus · Greek · lizard

The name combines "Likhoe'le," a locality name in Lesotho (southern Africa) near where the fossils were discovered, with the Greek word "sauros," meaning lizard. The place name Likhoe'le is derived from the Sesotho language. The name thus translates roughly as "lizard from Likhoe'le" and honors the geographic origin of the specimen.

Named by

Ellenberger and Ginsburg

Year named

1966

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Norian

Found in

Upper Elliot Formation (or Stormberg Group), Lesotho, southern Africa

Likhoelesaurus is generally regarded as a nomen dubium. It was described from fragmentary material and has been considered undiagnostic by most subsequent reviewers. It is sometimes associated with the early dinosauriform or basal dinosaur fauna of the Stormberg Group of southern Africa. The exact taxonomic placement (whether it is a true dinosaur, a rauisuchian, or another archosaur) remains uncertain due to the poor quality of the material.