#thotobolosaurus

[alphynix]

It Came From The Trash Heap (We Don't Talk About Kholumolumo)

A wastebasket taxon is what happens when species can't be easily classified and instead get hurled into a "catch-all" category.

…But that's not the only kind of taxonomic tangle that can befall a new discovery.

When a scientific name is assigned to a new species, but it isn't given a corresponding formal description and type specimen, it becomes a nomen nudum – a "naked name". Without a proper description and assigned holotype the name isn't valid, and the new species isn't technically accepted by the wider scientific community.

This has even happened to some surprisingly famous names. In the 1920s Velociraptor mongoliensis was briefly given the nomen nudum "Ovoraptor djadochtari" before getting its much more familiar name when it was officially described. Meanwhile the giant pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi was stuck as a nomen nudum for decades, only finally getting a proper published description in 2021.

And there's another particular long-standing nomen nudum that became mildly infamous – "Thotobolosaurus", the "trash heap lizard".

Discovered next to a literal trash pile in the village of Maphutseng in Lesotho, a few scattered and broken bones of this "prosauropod" sauropodomorph dinosaur were first found in 1930. But it wasn't until the mid-1950s that a more extensive bonebed began to be unearthed at the site, and over the next decade over 1000 fossil fragments were collected.

In the mid-1960s the remains were initially classified as belonging to Euskelosaurus browni (which is now considered to be a wastebasket taxon), but just a few years later in 1970 the "Maphutseng Beast" was re-evaluated as a species new to science. It was referred to as "Thotobolosaurus mabeatae" – based on the local name of the discovery site, "Thotobolo ea ‘Ma-Beata" (trash heap of Beata’s mother) – but this name was never actually formally published.

Despite "Thotobolosaurus" being an undescribed nomen nudum it nonetheless went on to be repeatedly referenced in scientific literature over the next few decades, and appeared in several popular dinosaur books (even as recently as 2020!).

In the mid-1990s it was alternatively named "Kholumolumosaurus ellenbergerorum" in a Ph.D. dissertation, with this name derived from the kholumolumo, a reptilian creature in Sotho mythology, and the Ellenberger brothers who worked on the site. But this also didn't count as a formal publication and instead became a second nomen nudum for the species.

Eventually, 90 years after the first bones were found and 50 years after the debut of the name "Thotobolosaurus", this long-neglected sauropodomorph was finally given a proper published full anatomical description in 2020.

And it also got a third name, this time officially valid, based on the second one from the 1990s: Kholumolumo ellenbergerorum.

For something associated with trash for so long, Kholumolumo is actually now one of the most completely-known prosauropods. At least five different individuals were present in the collected fossil material, possibly as many as ten, and between them most of the full skeleton is represented – with the exception of the skulls, which are only known from a couple of small fragments.

We now know Kholumolumo was rather heavily-built, with chunky limb bones and unusually short shinbones. It would have been one of the biggest animals around in the Late Triassic (~210 million years ago), measuring at least 9m long (~30') and weighing around 1.7 tonnes (1.9 US tons), but despite its size it seems to have still been bipedal.

Due to the highly disarticulated nature of the bones the fossil site may have been a "bone accumulation area", a place where dismembered bits and pieces of different carcasses were regularly carried to be eaten by a predator or scavenger – essentially a trash heap, fittingly enough. A couple of "rauisuchian" teeth have actually been found among the remains, which might indicate what was chomping on these particular Kholumolumo.

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Nix Illustration | Tumblr | Twitter | Patreon

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

triassic or treat!!!!!

Triassic you say?

Kholumolumo!

Please do not send me more trick or treat asks, I am only answering the ones I could not get to after I hit post limit last night, it is Nov 1st we have other shenanigans to attend to!

[stavrosskundromichalis]

The recently formally described Kholumolumo ellenbergerorum (formerly known as "Kholumolumosaurus" or "Thotobolosaurus"), a large sauropodomorph from the lower Elliot Formation (Norian) of Maphutseng, Lesotho.

[saddinosaurfacts]

Have you heard of Thotobolosaurus? A dinosaur a day just did it. You should def make it your next fact. trust me.

happy birthday. i lost track of how late this response is.

_sdfw

[cry-olophosaurus]

DMM 2017: Sauropodomorpha!

Late to the party! But here are my choices!

Non-Plateosaur Prosauropods: Buriolestes

Non-Anchisaur Plateosaurs: Plateosaurus (cause I’m basic?)

Non-Gravisaur Anchisaurs: Thotobolosaurus

Miscellaneous Gravisaurs: Spinophorosaurus

Mamenchisaurids: Omeisaurus

Turiasaurs: Zby

Rebbachisaurids: Rebbachisaurus

Dicraeosaurids: Brachytrachelopan

Diplodocids: Barosaurus

Non-Titanosauriform Macronarians: Bellusaurus

Non-Somphospondyl Titanosauriformes: Europasaurus

Non-Titanosaur Somphospondylians: Sauroposeidon 

Non-Lithostrotian Titanosaurs: Puertasaurus

Lithostrotians: Dreadnoughtus

[nobilissiregis-blog]

<3 (4/?)

@zeneisen: Jay/Veni/Jake--whatever you refer to him as, we all know that he’s terrifying. By that, I mean terrifying because he’s so wonderful that it’s frankly intimidating. But once you’ve summoned up enough courage and reached out to him for the first time, it’s like a joyride when you’re fifteen and licenseless and you’re screaming your head off because you forgot how to decelerate and now you’ve got the cops on your tail for going 100kmh on a 70. Though that might be exaggerating a bit; Veni is someone who puts so much thought and effort into whatever he does, and he’s so careful with his muses (when he isn’t cracking all over the place) that it’s just wonderful to be able to talk to him IC and OOC.

@gxtsumen: Cat is sweet. Cat is a joy. Cat is fun and it’s just really nice to be able to talk to them OOC, since they’re just really sweet and accepting of whatever nonsense you have to throw at them, whether it’s for an RP or whatever. Also--to top it off like icing for a cake, they have a Tsukki who sasses (and won’t be sassed at!) like a pro and their threads are typically hilarious to read.

@thotobolosaurus: Elva’s Tsukishima is like the light at the end of a tunnel: you know it surely means that you’re dead, but the light itself is such a relief to see that you just run straight towards it and all but throw yourself into it. In other words, once you’re in, you’re never getting out. Even though Tsukishima’s not around currently--because Elva’s such a quirky, sweet person who’s such fun to talk to and get to know. And to RP with. There’s no end to the depravity that you can generate with her and that’s probably the biggest selling point to RPing with her that I can think of right now. There’s never a dull moment around when you’re talking to both her and--

@muradai: Rivka who is absolutely adorable for all that she’d protest that she isn’t. She’s got the soul of an old man living within her, and that’s Daichi--which makes RPing and talking with her hilarious because who doesn’t love talking to a young, smol child with the voice of a stinky old man? Real talk though: she’s hilarious, and it’s so, so great to be able to get to know her OOC and Daichi IC.

[tetsruos-blog]

“Y'know, nobody is going to know I’m your omega if you don’t mark me as yours.” ((if that's ok!))

(A/B/O MEME.)

There’s a pause, exaggerated in its length as Kuroo makes the move to step towards his omega and pull him close by his hips. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to go that far,” he admits, nosing along Tsukishima’s neck. The scent glands there are strong, strong enough that Kuroo breathes in through his mouth to get a taste of it, and with a gentle kiss to the gland closest to the junction of Tsukishima’s neck and shoulder, he speaks. “Shall I do this now, then, sweetheart?”

[chohatsu]

◉

Fluffy Friday Meme (Giving Edition)Send me symbol a for my muse to:◉ Bring yours a tea/coffee/drink that they like

There was a common phrase that Tsukishima said when requesting coffee.

‘I want it as black as my soul.’

So when Kuroo walked towards the kitchen with a quick “Coffee?”, the response was an equally as quick, “As black as my soul.”

Kuroo returned a few minutes later with a mug, setting it into his boyfriend’s hands and kissing him on the head. The blond stared in confusion and probably a mix of annoyance or anger down into the beautifully caramel colored liquid, which obviously contained lots of milk and in all likelihood, lots of sugar.

“Eyes are the gateway to the soul, I think is what most people say.” Kuroo mumbled against Tsukki’s hair, a grin obviously present by the tone of his words.

He walked away a moment later without another word.

It took about a minute for him to come back with another mug, laughing lightly.

“That’s actually my tea, please don’t drink it, you hate my tea.” Kuroo switched out the mugs, this one a clearly rich and extremely dark brown that indicated that it was what Tsukishima had actually asked for. 

Kuroo wasn’t about to tell the man the reason for that stunt was because their coffee machine took far too long.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Round One: Ngwevu vs Kholumalumo

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!

DMM Round One Masterpost

[saddinosaurfacts]

THOTOBOLOSAURUS “Trash heap lizard” Late Triassic, 237-208.5 million years ago

This mysterious dinosaur was most likely a prosauropod – part of the family that would eventually become the long-necked Jurassic giants we know and love. Its name comes from the Sesotho term for “trash heap,” because its fossils were... found in a trash heap. In Lesotho. Despite having been discovered in 1955, no paleontologist has taken the time to formally describe Thotobolosaurus in any scientific literature.

Thotobolosaurus doesn't know whether to feel actively bullied or totally ignored.

[positivelyhaikyuu]

For @thotobolosaurus, from @chohatsu