Elessaurus is known from a single holotype specimen, UFSM 11471, which consists of most of a leg connected to parts of the hip and the base of the tail.
Despite being fairly complete by the standards of its locale, many of the specimen's bones are flattened or fragmentary.
UFSM 11471 was collected from the Bica São Tomé site, an outcrop of the Sanga do Cabral Formation in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Based on the presence of Procolophon, the Sanga do Cabral Formation is likely Early Triassic (Induan-Olenekian) in age.

The generic name of Elessaurus is derived from the word "Elessar".
This word originated from the fictional language of Quenya, which was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien for elves in his Middle Earth series.
It translated to "elf-stone", and is one of the many names of the character more well-known as Aragorn.
Another name of Aragorn is "long-shanks", justifying its connection to Elessaurus, which possessed characteristically elongated shin bones.
The specific name translates to "Western Gondwana", the region of the Early Triassic world which is now South America.
Elessaurus is known from a single holotype specimen, UFSM 11471, which consists of most of a leg connected to parts of the hip and the base of the tail. Despite being fairly complete by the standards of its locale, many of the specimen's bones are flattened or fragmentary. UFSM 11471 was collected from the Bica São Tomé site, an outcrop of the Sanga do Cabral Formation in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Based on the presence of Procolophon, the Sanga do Cabral Formation is likely Early Triassic (Induan-Olenekian) in age.
The generic name of Elessaurus is derived from the word "Elessar". This word originated from the fictional language of Quenya, which was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien for elves in his Middle Earth series. It translated to "elf-stone", and is one of the many names of the character more well-known as Aragorn. Another name of Aragorn is "long-shanks", justifying its connection to Elessaurus, which possessed characteristically elongated shin bones. The specific name translates to "Western Gondwana", the region of the Early Triassic world which is now South America.
Elessaurus