Saturnalia tupiniquim

This early and small dinosaur is considered to be a basalmost sauropodomorph. It is known from three partial skeletons from the Upper Triassic Santa Maria Formation of Brazil. A study by Brea et al. (2005) however shows close ressemblance with the basal theropod Guaibasaurus and regroup both genus in the family Guaibasauridae.

Name

Saturnalia tupiniquim

Authority

Langer, Abdala, Richter & Benton, 1999

Meaning of generic name

Saturnalia, Latin equivalent to carnival, in reference to the feasting period when the paratypes were found.

Meaning of specific name

tupiniquim, Portuguese word of indigenous Guarani origin, an endearing way of referring to native things from Brazil.

Size

Length: 1.5 m, Skull length: [not give]

Remains

Holotype (MCP 3844-PV): well-preserved semi-articulated skeleton.

Referred specimens: MCP 3845-PV (partial skeleton), MCP 3846-PV (partial skeleton)

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Santa Maria Formation (=Caturrita Formation), Rhynchosaur zone, Upper Triassic (Late Carnian).

Locality: Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Classification

Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha?

Further Reading

M. C. Langer, F. Abdala, M. Richter and M. J. Benton. 1999. A sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) of southern Brazil. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences, Paris: Sciences de la terre et des planètes 329:511-517.

M. C. Langer. 2003. The pelvic and hind limb anatomy of the stem-sauropodomorph Saturnalia tupiniquim (Late Triassic, Brazil). PaleoBios 23(2):1-40.

M. C. Langer. 2005. Saturnalia tupiniquim and the origin of sauropodomorphs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(3, suppl.):82A.

G. Brea, J. F. Bonaparte, C. L. Schultz and A. G. Martinelli. 2005. A new specimen of Guaibasaurus candelariensis (basal Saurischia) from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of southern Brazil. In A. W. A. Kellner, D. D. R. Henriques, and T. Rodrigues (eds.), II Congresso Latino-Americano de Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Boletim de Resumos. Museum Nacional/UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro 55-56