| Lutungutali | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype ilium with a scale bar | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria (?) |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia (?) |
| Family: | †Silesauridae |
| Clade: | †Sulcimentisauria |
| Genus: | †Lutungutali Peecooket al.,2013 |
| Type species | |
| †Lutungutali sitwensis Peecooket al., 2013 | |
Lutungutali (meaning "high hip" in theBemba language) is an extinctgenus ofsilesauriddinosauriform from theMiddle Triassic of Zambia. The singletype species of the genus isLutungutali sitwensis.Lutungutali was named in 2013 and described from a fossil specimen,holotypeNHCC LB32, including hip bones and tail vertebrae. The specimen was collected in 2009 from the upperNtawere Formation, which dates to theAnisian stage of the Middle Triassic.Lutungutali is the first known silesaurid from Zambia and, along with the Tanzanian silesauridAsilisaurus and dinosauriformNyasasaurus, the oldest bird-linearchosaur known from body fossils (i.e. parts of the skeleton).[1]
Lutungutali is known from parts of itspelvis and from fourcaudal vertebrae that make up the base of the tail. These bones represent one individual, although bones that may belong toLutungutali representing eight other individuals were collected from the same fossil site in 2011.Lutungutali shares the following three features (synapomorphies) with other early dinosauriforms:
Lutungutali also shares two synapomorphies with theclade or evolutionary grouping containing silesaurids and dinosaurs:
In addition, it shares two synapomorphies with other silesaurids:
Lutungutali has one unique feature orautapomorphy that distinguishes it from all other dinosauriforms: an iliac blade that is taller than the portion of the ilium that forms the hip socket. This feature is references in its name, which means "high hip" in the Bemba Language.[1]
Lutungutali belongs to Silesauridae, afamily of archosaurs that is very closely related toDinosauria. Silesaurids are known from southern Africa, Poland, the southwestern United States, and South America. WhenLutungutali was named in 2013, aphylogenetic analysis (an analysis of evolutionary relationships) grouped it with the mostderived silesaurids from theLate Triassic. The closest silesaurid in both space and time toLutungutali isAsilisaurus from the Anisian-ageManda Beds of Tanzania, yet it was found to be a morebasal silesaurid. Below is acladogram from the analysis:[1]
Lutungutali andAsilisaurus are the two oldest known members ofAvemetatarsalia, the line of archosaurs that includes birds. The oldest known member of the other line of archosaurs,Pseudosuchia (crocodile-line archosaurs), is from theOlenekian stage of theEarly Triassic, meaning that the first members of Avemetatarsalia must have appeared by this time. However, before the discovery ofAsilisaurus (which was named in 2010), the oldest known avemetatarsalians were from theLadinian stage of the Middle Triassic. BecauseAsilisaurus andLutungutali are relativelyderived members of Avemetatarsalia, their presence in the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic suggests that avemetatarsalians underwent a rapid diversification at a time in their evolutionary history that was earlier than previously thought.[1]
