Ledumahadi

Ledumahadi (meaning "giant thunderclap" in Sesotho language) is a genus of lessemsaurid sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Elliot Formation in Free State Province, South Africa.

A quadruped, it was one of the first giant sauropodomorphs, reaching a weight of around 12 tonnes (13 short tons), despite not having evolved columnar limbs like its later huge relatives.

[1] At the age of 14 years, L. mafube is estimated to have reached a maximum size of around 12 tonnes (13 short tons) in body mass, significantly larger than its relatives.

[4] A phylogenetic analysis of Ledumahadi mafube was performed by McPhee and colleagues, which found it to belong to a recently recognised clade of sauropodiformes called Lessemsauridae, including the closely related South African Antetonitrus and Lessemsaurus from Argentina.

Blikanasaurus Camelotia Lessemsaurus Antetonitrus Ledumahadi Leonerasaurus Gongxianosaurus Pulanesaura Sauropoda The size of the taxon was deemed to be important in the wider picture of sauropodomorph evolution, similar to its other lessemsaurid relatives.

Size of Ledumahadi compared to a human