Browsing by Author "Krupandan, Emil"

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    Extinctions: Past and Present Week 4 - Dinosaurs dominate
    (2017-03-17) Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Krupandan, Emil
    In this video, Professor Anusaya Chinsamy-Turan briefly explains how dinosaurs came to dominate terrestrial animals after the End Triassic extinction. She also introduces her then PhD student Emil Krupandan who discusses the early radiation of dinosaurs in a subsequent video. This is video 2 in Week 4 of the Extinctions: Past and Present MOOC.
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    Extinctions: Past and Present Week 4 - New dinosaur discoveries
    (2017-03-17) Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Krupandan, Emil
    In this video, Professor Anusaya Chinsamy-Turan interviews Dr Emil Krupandan about some of the research he has done during his PhD to uncover new information about the early evolution and biology of the long neck dinosaurs. They discuss the characteristics of some dinosaur species in detail.
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    Insights into the palaeobiology of sauropodomorph dinosaurs through an analysis of their bone histology
    (2024) Toefy, Mohammed Fay-yaad; Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Krupandan, Emil
    The Elliot Formation (EF) of Southern Africa ranges from the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic. Many sauropodomorph dinosaurs such as Massospondylus, Melanorosaurus and Antetonitrus have been excavated from the EF. These dinosaurs range from basal Sauropodomorpha to the derived Sauropodiformes providing key insight into their evolution. Osteohistology studies are well recognised as providing much biological information about the growth dynamics of extinct animals, and several studies have focused on either basal Sauropodomorpha or derived Sauropoda. This research assesses the osteohistology of one basal Sauropodomorpha, Plateosauravus as well as three derived Sauropodiformes, Sauropodiforme indet., Melanorosaurus and Lessemsauridae indet. to better understand their growth dynamics of the transitionary Sauropodiformes en route to Sauropoda. Preparation and analysis of thin sections were undertaken on primarily long bones of Plateosauravus (SAM-PK-2780 – 3603), Sauropodiforme indet. (NMQR-3314), Melanorosaurus (NMQR-1551) and Lessemsauridae indet., (SAM-PK-K382). Histological descriptions and comparisons were completed within and between taxa. The general histology of all long bones was similar. In early to mid-stages of the ontogeny, fibrolamellar bone was the dominant bone type followed by parallel fibred bone in late stages of ontogeny. Melanorosaurus elements differed by exhibiting a distinctive periosteal pathology and considerably more secondary remodelling in the femur. Although badly fragmented, Sauropodiforme indet. elements show similar histological features. Both Plateosauravus and Lessemsauridae indet. differ primarily in the degree of vascularisation around LAGs and secondary reconstruction. The number of growth marks varied between two to three in the fragmented Sauropodiforme indet., five to six in Melanorosaurus and Plateosauravus and up to ten in Lessemsauridae indet. LAGs in the basal taxon, Plateosauravus, were found throughout the compacta while the derived Sauropodiformes taxa primarily had growth marks in the outer half. The delayed deposition of LAGs differed between basal Sauropodomorpha and Sauropodiformes thus suggesting shifts towards more uninterrupted growth. Overall, the growth dynamics of these Sauropodomorph dinosaurs suggest an increase in growth rates and shift towards rapid, sustained growth as seen in the more derived Sauropoda, although they also show some variation in their individual growth dynamics.
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    Unravelling the palaeobiology of the dinosaurian post crania and associated carnivore teeth from the early jurassic, Elliot formation in the Eastern Cape
    (2025) Lee Logie, Jessica; Chinsamy-Turan, Anusuya; Krupandan, Emil
    The Elliot Formation of the Stormberg Group of South Africa ranges in age from the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic. This stratigraphic unit bears a varied dinosaur assemblage, among which sauropodomorph dinosaurs are the most abundant. Sauropodomorpha are particularly well documented in the Upper Elliot Formation and are morphologically and taxonomically diverse. Specimen AM 6147, a large basal sauropodomorph, was excavated from the Barkley Pass, Eastern Cape, Elliot Formation of South Africa in 2013 by a joint team from the Albany Museum and the University of the Witwatersrand led by Dr Billy de Klerk. The specimen comprises post cranial material including ribs, gastralia, vertebrae of the mid-posterior section of the tail, and a complete left pes. Associated with the specimen are three teeth of contemporaneous carnivores. Here, we describe the skeletal anatomy of AM 6147 and assess its phylogenetic affinities by scoring our findings in a phylogenetic data matrix. We also attempt to identify the carnivorous taxa to which the associated teeth may have belonged, and the nature of the relationship between them and AM 6147. Our phylogenetic analyses reveal that this specimen belongs to the Massospondylidae and that it is recovered as a new taxon, Enkulusaura deklerki, based on a unique combination of plesiomorphic and derived features. Our findings suggests that the three associated carnivore teeth could possibly belong to two different theropod dinosaur, while the third tooth is likely from a crocodylomorph. In conclusion, this study of AM 6147 shows that it is a new large bodied Massospondylid from the Elliot Formation and provides a better understanding of the diversity of basal Sauropodomorpha in the Early Jurassic of South Africa. Furthermore, the associated teeth contribute insight into the ecological relationships between these contemporaneous taxa.