Open Paleo

Bagualosaurus

Pretto et al., 2018 bag-WAH-lo-SOR-us

From 'bagual', a term in the dialect of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) meaning 'strongly built fellow', referring to the strong hindlimbs of the animal, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard'. The species name refers to the provenance from the town of Agudo.

237.0–227.3 million years ago Carnian, Late Triassic
Late Triassic stages

Bagualosaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Candelária Sequence (Uppermost Santa Maria Formation) of Brazil, dating to around 230 million years ago, in the Carnian of the Late Triassic. It includes one species, Bagualosaurus agudoensis.

Diagnosis

  1. Dorsal surface of iliac acetabulum straight, with supracetabular crest not overhanging the acetabulum ventrally (autapomorphy)
  2. Pubic tubercle with a distinct longitudinal sulcus (autapomorphy)
  3. Lateromedially widened pubic peduncle with no dorsal crest
  4. Distal tibia with a conspicuous caudomedial notch
  5. First premaxillary tooth at least as high as the highest tooth in the maxillary row
  6. Premaxillary and dentary teeth retreated from the rostral margin of the snout

Species

Bagualosaurus agudoensis Pretto et al., 2018

Type species

Named for the town of Agudo in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, near where the holotype was discovered.

Holotype
UFRGS-PV-1099-T , Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Material
Semi-articulated skeleton including partial skull and mandible, trunk vertebrae, sacrum and isolated caudal vertebrae, fragmented ribs, gastralia, isolated haemal arches, both ilia, right pubis, femora, tibiae, fibulae and partial left pes
Horizon
Alemoa Member, Santa Maria Formation, Carnian, Late Triassic , 237.0–227.3 million years ago
Locality
Janner site, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Pretto and colleagues (2018) correlate the Janner site with the "Hyperodapedon Assemblage Zone, part of the Candelária Sequence of the Santa Maria Formation". Langer and colleagues (2018) date the bone bed near the top of the formation at no older than 233.23 ± 0.73 Ma, "consistent with a late Carnian (Tuvalian) age", and correlate the zone with the Scaphonyx-Exaeretodon-Herrerasaurus biozone of the Ischigualasto Formation; the Norian beds of the supersequence are in the overlying Caturrita Formation.

References

  1. Pretto, F. A.; Langer, M. C.; Schultz, C. L. (2018). A new dinosaur (Saurischia: Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of Brazil provides insights on the evolution of sauropodomorph body plan. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 185(2): 388-416. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly028 pretto2018a
  2. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass estimate.

    paul2024a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026b
  4. Langer, M. C.; Ramezani, J.; Da Rosa, Á. A. S. (2018). U-Pb age constraints on dinosaur rise from south Brazil. Gondwana Research 57: 133-140. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2018.01.005

    Dates the Alemoa bone bed near the top of the Santa Maria Formation at no older than 233.23 Ma, late Carnian.

    langer2018a