Open Paleo

Staurikosaurus

Colbert, 1970 STAWR-i-ko-SAWR-us

From Greek stauros ('cross') and sauros ('lizard'); meaning 'Southern Cross lizard', after the Southern Cross constellation visible from Brazil where it was found

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

Staurikosaurus is a genus of herrerasaurid dinosaur from the Late Triassic of Brazil, found in the Santa Maria Formation.

Diagnosis

  1. Craniomedial region of the distal pubis distinctly beveled
  2. Femoral cranial trochanter reduced in size
  3. Distal end of the tibia subcircular in distal view
  4. Dorsoventrally oriented sulcus on the medial surface of the proximal third of the fibula

Species

Staurikosaurus pricei Colbert, 1970

Type species

Named for Llewellyn Ivor Price, the Brazilian paleontologist who discovered the holotype specimen in 1936.

Holotype
MCZ 1669 , Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Material
Incomplete skeleton comprising both mandibular rami with tooth fragments in place, six cervical, 15 dorsal, three sacral and 34 caudal vertebrae, rib fragments, the distal left scapula, the ilia, ischia and pubes, the femora, tibiae and fibulae, and unidentified fragments.
Horizon
Alemoa Member, Santa Maria Formation, Carnian, Late Triassic , 237.0–227.3 million years ago
Locality
Sanga Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Synonyms

  • Teyuwasu junior subjective

    Tentatively treated as a junior synonym of Staurikosaurus pricei pending further research.

References

  1. Colbert, E. H. (1970). A saurischian dinosaur from the Triassic of Brazil. American Museum Novitates 2405: 1-39. colbert1970a
  2. Bittencourt, J. S.; Kellner, A. W. A. (2009). The anatomy and phylogenetic position of the Triassic dinosaur Staurikosaurus pricei Colbert, 1970. Zootaxa 2079(1): 1-56. Magnolia Press. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2079.1.1

    Redescribes the holotype and gives the type locality as Sanga Grande, an outcrop of the Alemoa Member of the Santa Maria Formation.

    bittencourt2009a