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Nhandumirim

Marsola et al., 2018

From Tupi nhandú ('rhea') and mirim ('small'), meaning 'small rhea'

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

Nhandumirim is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Carnian age of Late Triassic Brazil. It is currently considered a saturnaliid sauropodomorph. The type and only species, Nhandumirim waldsangae, is known from a single immature specimen including vertebrae, a chevron, pelvic material, and a hindlimb found in the Santa Maria Formation in Rio Grande do Sul.

Under dispute

Nhandumirim waldsangae was originally described as a basal theropod (Marsola and colleagues, 2018) but subsequently recovered as an early sauropodomorph close to Saturnalia and Chromogisaurus (Müller and Garcia, 2020).

Diagnosis

  1. Sharp longitudinal keels on ventral surfaces of proximal caudal centra
  2. Brevis fossa extending for less than three-quarters of postacetabular ala
  3. Dorsolateral trochanter ending well distal to femoral head level
  4. Mediolaterally expanded distal tibia with tuberosity on cranial surface
  5. Tabular caudolateral flange on distal tibia
  6. Craniomedially oriented semicircular articular facet on distal fibula
  7. Straight metatarsal IV

Species

Nhandumirim waldsangae Marsola et al., 2018

Type species

Named for Waldsanga (also called Cerro da Alemoa or Sanga do Mato), the historically significant Triassic fossil site in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where the holotype was found.

Holotype
LPRP/USP 0651 , Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo
Material
Partial postcranial skeleton consisting of three trunk vertebrae, two sacral vertebrae, seven caudal vertebrae, a chevron, ilium, femur, partial tibia, fibula, metatarsals II and IV, ungual and nonungual phalanges
Horizon
upper Alemoa Member, Santa Maria Formation, Carnian, Late Triassic , 237.0–227.3 million years ago
Locality
Waldsanga, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

References

  1. Marsola, J. C. A.; Bittencourt, J. S.; Butler, R. J.; Da Rosa, Á. A. S.; Sayão, J. M.; Langer, M. C. (2018). A new dinosaur with theropod affinities from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation, south Brazil. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 38(5): e1531878. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2018.1531878 marsola2018a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates.

    jones2026b
  3. Müller, R. T.; Garcia, M. S. (2020). A paraphyletic ‘Silesauridae’ as an alternative hypothesis for the initial radiation of ornithischian dinosaurs. Biology Letters 16(8): 20200417. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2020.0417

    Its strict consensus tree (Fig. 1) recovers Nhandumirim within Sauropodomorpha, with Saturnalia, Chromogisaurus and Bagualosaurus, in the clade Fig. 2 labels Saturnaliidae.

    müller2020b