Wadiasaurus

Wadiasaurus ("Wadia" is in honour of the Professor D. N. Wadia and "sauros" means lizard) is an extinct genus of dicynodont from the family Kannemeyeria, that lived in herds from the early to Middle Triassic. Substantial fossorial evidence of W. indicus was recovered from Yerrapalli Formation of the Pranhita-Godavari valley, India, and it is so far the only Kannemeyeriid known for certain from India. The Kannemeyeriiformes underwent a significant diversification during the middle Triassic, with roughly 40 known species distributed worldwide. All Kannemeyeriiformes were medium to large bodied, graviportal herbivores with relatively erect posture and gait. Wadiasaurus indicus is currently the only known species of Wadiasaurus.

== Discovery == Wadiasaurus indicus is represented by a collection of well-preserved fossil material recovered from the Yerrapalli formation in India. In a single bone bed, at least 700 cranial and postcranial elements amounting to more than 23 monotypic individuals of varying age were excavated. A taphonomic study of the bone assemblage reveals that a herd of Wadiasaurus, including some juveniles and young animals, were trapped in the soft muds of a floodplain and buried in a small area. The bones were disarticulated and dissociated, which indicates some form of post mortem disturbance, though there was no evidence of any transportation from a great distance (no sign of rolling, abrasion, or maceration). The delicate elements of the skull and iliac elements were preserved, inferring small-scale transportation, likely from weathering of the surrounding region.