EXHIBIT 147
Melanorosaurus readi
Melanorosaurus is a Late Triassic South African sauropodomorph whose modern diagnosis rests on restricted, fragmentary type material. [1]
TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST
Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.
Historical attribution: the photographed femur is SAM-PK 3450, figured as Melanorosaurus in 2016 but excluded from that genus by the 2024 lectotype revision. It illustrates taxonomic history, not confirmed anatomy of current Melanorosaurus lectotype SAM-PK 3449. [2]
Historically referred femur SAM-PK 3450 · Photograph: C. Peyre de Fabrègues; published figure: Claire Peyre de Fabrègues & Ronan Allain (2016). CC BY 4.0. Resized proportionally and converted to WebP; no anatomical edits. Same source license applies.
The photograph or figure shows the credited fossil material; displayed mounts and labels can include interpretation.
Original cinematic interpretation limited by the revised postcranial lectotype. The head, forelimb details and whole-body posture are comparative restorations; the excluded referred skull does not certify them. Colors, soft tissues and setting are artistic. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.
Original artwork · artistic interpretation.
Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.
MEET THE ANIMAL
Melanorosaurus is a Late Triassic dinosaur name associated with South African fossils. Familiar profiles describe a large animal and often give an approximate length of twelve metres. However, that museum reference is not tied to one clearly identified individual or growth stage. It should not be treated as a secure measurement of the more restricted fossil material recognized today. [D5]
A recent reassessment narrowed the bones used to define Melanorosaurus. Features of an associated hip bone and tail vertebrae help establish its identity. This provides a firmer starting point, but leaves fewer securely assigned parts for reconstructing a complete animal. A detailed head, hand or whole-body outline still needs comparisons with other dinosaurs to fill the gaps. [D2]
Other skeletons once assigned to Melanorosaurus have been studied for growth, but their identity is no longer secure. Their microscopic bone tissues may reveal how those particular animals developed without showing the growth history of Melanorosaurus itself. The same caution applies to body-mass models: a calculation based on an excluded skeleton cannot simply become the weight of this named dinosaur. [D4]
PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER
The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.
Restricting the type clarifies identity while reducing the anatomy securely known for this genus. Familiar complete skeletons and size references often reflect older, broader referrals. [D2]
Profile scope: Genus profile centered on Melanorosaurus readi lectotype SAM-PK 3449. SAM-PK 3450 and NMQR 3314 are excluded under the 2024 revision; their anatomy is not silently transferred here. [D1]
Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.
A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.
About 12 m; historical broad-profile reference
The museum lists this whole-body reference without a specimen, stage or method. It is not validated against the newly restricted lectotype and should not be treated as its measured length. [D5]
Not established here
A transparent body-mass model securely tied to the restricted lectotype was not established in the reviewed evidence. Models of excluded NMQR 3314 would estimate a different, indeterminate animal. [D4]
Mixed feeding proposed; direct evidence limited
The museum categorizes the genus as omnivorous. Cranial and dental material is unestablished for the restricted lectotype, so a genus-specific menu cannot be reconstructed confidently. [D5] [D1]
Norian lower Elliot Formation, South Africa
The current revision places the type material in South Africa’s lower Elliot Formation. Lesotho’s former Melanorosaurus thabanensis is now the distinct genus Meroktenos and is outside this profile. [D1] [D3]
Not established here
Habitual stance is unresolved for the restricted lectotype in the accessible revision. Functional interpretations of excluded, more complete referrals do not securely establish its walking posture. [D1]
Diagnostic hip and tail features
The revised diagnosis rests on iliac and caudal vertebral characters in associated type material. A complete head, hands and body silhouette require comparative restoration rather than the previously referred NMQR 3314 skeleton. [D2]
Not established here
Focused searches found no securely assigned eggs or nesting evidence. Growth histology published for NMQR 3314 and NMQR 1551 concerns indeterminate referrals, not established reproductive development of the restricted genus. [D4]
Not established here
The reviewed revision and focused searches do not establish sex-specific anatomy, displays, calls, mate choice or mating rituals.
Not established here
The selected lectotype bones are interpreted as one associated individual. Excluding other specimens from the original assemblage does not establish mixed herds, family groups or social relationships. [D2]
Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.
THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS
The revised type is a smaller evidential foundation than the familiar composite animal. Diagnostic hip and tail material establishes identity, while complete-body restorations retain large areas of uncertainty. [2]
The scientific gallery’s SAM-PK 3450 femur documents an older attribution. It was excluded by the 2024 revision and is displayed as taxonomic history, not as confirmed anatomy of the current lectotype. [1] [3]
The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.
Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.
KEEP EXPLORING
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