Proof of mega-carnivorous dinosaur, 200-million years old, found in Lesotho

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UCT scientists say enormous footprints reveal that Kayentapus ambrokholohali, at 9m in body length, dwarfed other therapods of its time
27 OCTOBER 2017 - 08:46 TANYA FARBER

Imagine a huge, meat-eating dinosaur licking his lips in hunger as he towers over all the other creatures on the same landscape. It might seem like the opening scene from a Steven Spielberg film‚ but now‚ an international group of scientists‚ led by the University of Cape Town (UCT)‚ has evidence of this exact scenario.

Massive footprints of a mega-carnivore that roamed around Southern Africa 200-million years ago have been found on an informal road near Maseru in Western Lesotho. The resulting study was published this week in online science journal PLOS One. At that time (the beginning of the Jurassic Period) even the larger carnivorous dinosaurs were "relatively small"‚ according to a statement released by UCT‚ at about 3m to 5m in body length.

The footprints of this newly discovered, three-toed dinosaur have revealed to the scientists a creature estimated to be 9m in body length (similar to the height of a two-storey building)‚ with a hip height of 2.7m. It has been classified as a megatheropod (mega meaning huge‚ and theropod referring to carnivorous dinosaurs‚ who had short forelimbs and walked and ran on their hind legs)‚ and has been named Kayentapus ambrokholohali.

"This animal would have roamed a landscape dominated by much smaller carnivorous dinosaurs and a variety of herbivorous and omnivorous dinosaurs‚" according to UCT’s statement. These gigantic footprints — 50cm wide and 57cm long — are a find that provides a new window into that era. They are the largest theropod tracks found on the continent from this period; the only other place something similar has been spotted is in a mountain range in Poland.

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/science-and-environment/2017-10-27-proof-of-mega-carnivorous-dinosaur-200-million-years-old-found-in-lesotho/

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Note the 'pus' in the name refers to the rear foot -- this is established convention.

Obviously, it is tricky trying to describe a new species based solely on footprints. Until a trackway leading up to a skeleton is found (extremely improbable) it is hard to connect any fossil footprint to known fossil species. Chances are the formally accepted footprint 'species' include many similar species which produce similar footprints.

Taxonomy can be complicated.

https://books.google.com/books?id=xCrSL48cho0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=dinosaur+tracks+and+traces&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwij66aPlJLXAhWCJiYKHaDJD_0Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=dinosaur%20tracks%20and%20traces&f=false for further reading.