Ngwevu (2026), soap ground etching with aquatint

Factfiles:

Ngwevu ntoloko

Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @i-draws-dinosaurs and @zygodactylus

Name meaning: Grey skull

Time: ~190 to 180 million years ago (Pliensbachian to Toarcian stages of the Early Jurassic)

Location: Clarens Formation, South Africa

Ngwevu is a dinosaur with a case of baby-face so bad it was classified as another genus for 40 years. Initially discovered in 1978 and thought to be a specimen of Massospondylus, turns out it was just a really baby-looking prosauropod of a different kind! Many times in evolution animals will retain “baby” characteristics into adulthood - the classic and easily recognizable trait being large, round eyes, but also other features such as stunted proportions and chunkier limbs, depending. It seems that Ngwevu went through one of these processes, looking more similar to juveniles of other prosauropods (such as Massospondylus) than adults, all while actually being adults themselves. Predictably, it had a squat face with large eyes, a wide snout, robust proportions, and a thick body - babified Massospondylus! It probably had a more generalist diet than its cousin, indicating probable niche partitioning as the two lived in the same environment. The Clarens Formation, coming right after the Elliot, was an arid desert dominated by dunes, with a few types of dinosaurs including ornithischians, theropods, and other sauropodomorphs. In addition, fish, crustaceans, and invertebrates are also known from this location. 

Kholumolumo ellenbergerorum

Artwork by @alphynix, written by @i-draws-dinosaurs

Name meaning: Kholumolumo (giant reptilian dragon from Sotho folklore) named for Paul and François Ellenberger (the original excavators of the fossils)

Time: 210 million years ago (Norian stage of the Late Triassic)

Location: Lower Elliot Formation, Lesotho

Kholumolumo is an old friend with a new name. Its previous informal name, “Thotobolosaurus” meaning “trash heap reptile”, was truly magnificent and became one of the great memes of Ye Olde 2010s Palaeo Tumblr! Needless to say it was a bittersweet moment to see our old buddy finally published but lose its iconic name in the process. Rest in peace, Trash Heap Lizard.

The reason it wound up with that name is because the fossils were in fact found basically right next to the local rubbish dump of the village of Maphutseng in 1955. The trash pile turned out to be sitting on a bone bed of around five to ten animals, and over the course of several years they were excavated and moved to the University of Cape Town. Unfortunately, and perhaps appropriately to the name, the subsequent study of these fossils ended up being a complete trash fire. Specimens went missing that have never been found, professional relationships fell apart, and the animal itself wasn’t mentioned in the literature until 1970 when it was dropped into a discussion on the stratigraphy of the Elliot formation and named “Thotobolosaurus mabeatae” without any description of the fossils. This made the name “Thotobolosaurus” a nomen nudum (naked name) and thus invalid.

Finally in 2020 all the tribulation paid off and it received a proper initial description, although many fossils that weren’t lost in the chaos still remain under study and could be the subject of future papers. It’s nice to see our beloved trash heap of a dinosaur finally coming into its own!