Pulanesaura

Pulanesaura is an extinct genus of basal sauropodiform known from the Early Jurassic (late Hettangian to Sinemurian) Upper Elliot Formation of the Free State, South Africa. It contains a single species, Pulanesaura eocollum, known from partial remains of at least two subadult to adult individuals.

==Discovery and naming== thumb|left|Quarry map The remains of Pulanesaura were discovered in a small quarry in the farm Spion Kop 932 in the Senekal District of the Free State in 2004 by paleontologist Matthew Bonnan. The bones were excavated between 2004 and 2006, and studied by Blair McPhee as part of his dissertation since 2011. Pulanesaura was then described and named officially by Blair W. McPhee, Matthew F. Bonnan, Adam M. Yates, Johann Neveling and Jonah N. Choiniere in 2015 with the type species Pulanesaura eocollum. The generic name is derived from the Sesoth word for "rain-maker/bringer", Pulane, in reference to the heavy rain conditions under which the remains were collected, and the feminine form of the common dinosaur name suffix, saura, meaning "lizard" in Latin. The specific name is derived from Greek eo, meaning "dawn", and Latin collum, meaning "neck", in reference to Pulanesaura being a very basal sauropod not yet showing the most archetypal trait of more advanced sauropods - their very long necks. Pulanesaura was one of eighteen dinosaur taxa from 2015 to be described in open access or free-to-read journals.