Open Paleo

Buriolestes

Cabreira et al., 2016 BUH-ree-oh-LESS-teez

Named after the Buriol family, owners of the Buriol ravine in São João do Polêsine, Brazil where the holotype was discovered, combined with Greek 'lestes' meaning 'robber'. The species name honors paleontologist Cezar Schultz.

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

Buriolestes is a genus of early sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in southern Brazil. It contains a single species, B. schultzi, named in 2016. The type specimen was found alongside a specimen of the lagerpetid pterosauromorph Ixalerpeton.

Diagnosis

  1. Autapomorphic caudal projection of the medial condyle of the tibia, medial to the intercondylar notch.
  2. Teeth caudally curved with serrations forming straight angles to crown margin, absent on mesial carina of elongate rostral teeth.
  3. Lacks reduced skull and enlarged external naris typical of other sauropodomorphs.
  4. Third sacral vertebra lacks dorsoventrally expanded ribs, incorporated from tail series.
  5. Calcaneum proximodistally flattened with reduced tuber; outer malleolus absent.

Species

Buriolestes schultzi Cabreira et al., 2016

Type species

Named for paleontologist Cezar Schultz.

Holotype
ULBRA-PVT280 , Museu de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Luterana do Brasil
Material
Articulated skeleton including partial skull, few pre-sacral, three sacral, and 42 tail vertebrae, left scapula and forelimb lacking most of the manus, paired ilia and ischia, partial left pubis, and nearly complete left hind limb.
Horizon
Alemoa Member, Santa Maria Formation, Carnian, Late Triassic , 237.0–227.3 million years ago
Locality
Buriol ravine, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Notable specimens

  • CAPPA/UFSM 0035

    Centro de Apoio à Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Found 2015 complementary

    A mostly complete skeleton preserving a complete skull and most bones apart from the tail vertebrae. The holotype preserves only parts of the skull, so this specimen substantially extends known cranial anatomy and helped make Buriolestes among the most complete Triassic dinosaurs.

    Müller et al. (2018)

References

  1. Cabreira, S. F.; Kellner, A. W. A.; Dias-da-Silva, S.; Roberto-da-Silva, L.; Bronzati, M.; Marsola, J. C. de A.; Müller, R. T.; Bittencourt, J. de S.; Batista, B. J.; Raugust, T.; Carrilho, R.; Brodt, A.; Langer, M. C. (2016). A Unique Late Triassic Dinosauromorph Assemblage Reveals Dinosaur Ancestral Anatomy and Diet. Current Biology 26(22): 3090-3095. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.040 cabreira2016a
  2. Müller, R. T.; Langer, M. C.; Bronzati, M.; Pacheco, C. P.; Cabreira, S. F.; Dias-da-Silva, S. (2018). Early evolution of sauropodomorphs: anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of a remarkably well-preserved dinosaur from the Upper Triassic of southern Brazil. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 184(4): 1187-1248. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly009 müller2018b
  3. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length estimate.

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

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026b