Open Paleo

Saturnalia

Langer et al., 1999 sat-uhr-NAY-lee-uh

Named after the ancient Roman festival of Saturn (Saturnalia), held in December, in reference to the festive time of year during which the fossils were collected.

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

Saturnalia is an extinct genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur known from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It contains one species, Saturnalia tupiniquim. It is one of the earliest known dinosaurs.

Diagnosis

  1. 1.5-meter-long gracile dinosaur with skull length approximately one-third of femur length
  2. Lanceolate teeth with degree of heterodonty, anterior teeth higher than posterior
  3. Deltopectoral crest extending for more than 50% of humeral length
  4. Anterior blade of ilium short and pointed
  5. Deep proximal portion of pubes with lateral border robust and triangular in distal view
  6. Femur subequal in length to tibia with well-developed trochanteric shelf on proximal femur
  7. Ascending process of astragalus broad and laterally elongated, separated from anterior margin by platform

Species

Saturnalia tupiniquim Langer et al., 1999

Type species

The species name 'tupiniquim' is a word of Guarani origin colloquially used in Portuguese to refer to things of Brazilian origin.

Holotype
MCP 3844-PV , Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
Material
Well-preserved semiarticulated skeleton with presacral vertebral series, pectoral girdle, right humerus, partial right ulna, pelvic girdle, sacral series, left femur, right hind limb
Horizon
Alemoa Member, Santa Maria Formation, Carnian, Late Triassic , 237.0–227.3 million years ago
Locality
Wald Sanga, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Langer and colleagues (1999) give "the typical red mudstone of the Alemoa Member, Santa Maria Formation", assigned to the Rhynchosaur Zone. 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. Langer, M. C.; Abdala, F.; Richter, M.; Benton, M. J. (1999). A sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Upper Triassic (Carman) of southern Brazil. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series IIA - Earth and Planetary Science 329(7): 511-517. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/s1251-8050(00)80025-7 langer1999a
  2. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length and mass estimates.

    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