Kotasaurus

*Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis*

***Kotasaurus*** (meaning "Kota Formation lizard") is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic period. The only known species is *Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis*. It was discovered in the Kota Formation of Telangana, India and shared its habitat with the related *Barapasaurus*. So far the remains of at least 12 individuals are known. The greater part of the skeleton is known, but the skull is missing, with the exception of two teeth. Like all sauropods, it was a large, quadrupedal herbivore with long neck and tail.

## Description

*Kotasaurus* is one of the most basal sauropods known. The general body plan was that of a typical sauropod, but in several basal features it resembles prosauropods. Like all sauropods, *Kotasaurus* was an obligate quadruped, while prosauropods were primitively bipedal. The body length is estimated at roughly 9 meters and therefore already comparable with that of later sauropods. The femur was straight and oval in cross section, which means that the limbs were already columnar. The teeth were spoon shaped, like those of later sauropods. Basal features, on the other hand, include the relatively short and slightly twisted humerus, as well as the retention of a lesser trochanter on the femur. The vertebrae were simply built and massive, in contrast to that of the related *Barapasaurus*, which already show some hollowing as a weight-saving measure. Autapomorphies include the relatively slender limb bones as well as the low and elongated preacetabular process.

## Classification

Initially, it was not clear if *Kotasaurus* represents a true sauropod or a basal sauropodomorph that has to be classified outside Sauropoda. Some paleontologists placed it inside a basal sauropod family called Vulcanodontidae though, together with *Barapasaurus* and the fragmentary *Ohmdenosaurus* and *Zizhongosaurus*. This grouping is now recognized to be paraphyletic. Today *Kotasaurus* is recognized as one of the most basal sauropods known. The exact relationships are not entirely clear, however. A recent study by Bandyopadhyay and colleagues renders *Kotasaurus* to be more basal than *Barapasaurus* and *Vulcanodon* but more derived than *Jingshanosaurus*, *Antetonitrus* and *Chinshakiangosaurus*.

## Discovery

All known fossils come from an area of 2,4 km² near the village of Yamanpalli in Telangana, approximately 40 km north of the *Barapasaurus* type locality. These finds, altogether 840 skeletal parts, were found in the late 1970s. In 1988 they were described by P. yadagiri as a new genus and species of sauropod, *Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis*.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Kotasaurus is the oldest known sauropod, or long-necked dinosaur. The giant sauropod plant-eaters first appeared during the Jurassic Period. These huge creatures were the largest animals ever to walk the Earth. They evolved from earlier plant-eaters called prosauropods that first appeared during the last part of the Triassic Period, as much as 225 million years ago.

Kotasaurus seems to exhibit characteristics of both sauropods and prosauropods. Features of its ilium and sacrum resemble those of prosauropods, but its ischium is that of a sauropod. Its large size also places it in the sauropod family. No other known dinosaur has been found with these transitional characteristics..

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20040214164700fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_kotas.html