Open Paleo

Zupaysaurus

Arcucci & Coria, 2003 ZOO-pay-SAWR-us /ˌzuːpeɪˈsɔːrəs/

From Quechua supay meaning 'devil' and Greek sauros (σαυρος) meaning 'lizard'; thus 'devil lizard'

227.3–205.7 million years ago Norian, Late Triassic
Late Triassic stages

Zupaysaurus is an extinct genus of early theropod dinosaur living during the Norian stage of the Late Triassic in what is now Argentina. Fossils of the dinosaur were found in the Los Colorados Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina. Although a full skeleton has not yet been discovered, Zupaysaurus can be considered a bipedal predator, up to 4 meters (13 ft) long. A pair of parasagittal crests reported on its snout proved to be a displaced nasal bone.

Under dispute

Zupaysaurus rougieri has been recovered as a coelophysid or a close relative of Liliensternus and Dilophosaurus, and as the earliest- branching member of the stem lineage to Averostra; recent analyses place it outside Coelophysoidea (Ezcurra, 2017; Ezcurra and colleagues, 2020).

Diagnosis

  1. Maxillary-jugal ventral margin describing an obtuse angle in lateral view
  2. Horizontal ramus of the maxilla with parallel dorsal and ventral margins
  3. Notch on the dorsal margin of the ascending process of the maxilla
  4. Sigmoid ventral process of the squamosal
  5. Strongly ventrally curved rostral process of the lacrimal
  6. Cnemial crest poorly developed
  7. Tibia with a very deep, caudally open notch receiving an astragalar caudal process

Species

Zupaysaurus rougieri Arcucci & Coria, 2003

Type species

Named for Guillermo Rougier, the scientist who led the expedition that discovered and collected the holotype.

Holotype
PULR 076 , Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Rioja (UNLaR)
Material
Skull and jaws lacking both premaxillae, atlas, axis, postaxial cervical, dorsal, sacral and distal caudal vertebrae, left scapulocoracoid, isolated manual unguals, distal ends of both femora, proximal left tibia, distal right tibia and fibula, and right astragalocalcaneum
Horizon
upper Los Colorados Formation, Norian, Late Triassic , 227.3–205.7 million years ago
Locality
Quebrada de los Jachaleros, 7 km West of National Route 126, La Rioja, Argentina

References

  1. Arcucci, A. B.; Coria, R. A. (2003). A new Triassic carnivorous dinosaur from Argentina. Ameghiniana 40(2): 217-228. arcucci2003a
  2. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the upper size estimates. Reconstructs the snout with well-developed paired crests, which is not followed.

    paul2024a
  3. Ezcurra, M. D. (2017). A New Early Coelophysoid Neotheropod from the Late Triassic of Northwestern Argentina. Ameghiniana 54(5): 506. Asociacion Paleontologica Argentina. doi:10.5710/amgh.04.08.2017.3100

    Described new coelophysoid, part of recent analyses on Zupaysaurus's neotheropod position.

    ezcurra2017a
  4. Ezcurra, M. D.; Butler, R. J.; Maidment, S. C. R.; Sansom, I. J.; Meade, L. E.; Radley, J. D. (2020). A revision of the early neotheropod genus Sarcosaurus from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian) of central England. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191: 113-149. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa054

    Revised Sarcosaurus, part of recent analyses on Zupaysaurus's early neotheropod position.

    ezcurra2020a
  5. Ezcurra, M. D. (2007). The cranial anatomy of the coelophysoid theropod Zupaysaurus rougieri from the Upper Triassic of Argentina. Historical Biology 19(2): 185-202. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/08912960600861467

    Cranial redescription. Shows that the parasagittal snout crests are the displaced right nasal, the true ornament being two low lateral ridges, and adds the squamosal and lacrimal autapomorphies.

    ezcurra2007b
  6. Ezcurra, M. D.; Novas, F. E. (2007). Phylogenetic relationships of the Triassic theropod Zupaysaurus rougieri from NW Argentina. Historical Biology 19(1): 35-72. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/08912960600845791

    Emends the diagnosis, keeping three of the original characters and adding five, and refers the associated scapulocoracoid, femora and tibia to the genus.

    ezcurra2007c
  7. Paulina-Carabajal, A.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Novas, F. E. (2019). New information on the braincase and endocranial morphology of the Late Triassic neotheropod Zupaysaurus rougieri using computed tomography data. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 39(3): e1630421. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1630421

    Braincase and endocast from computed tomography. Finds one hypoglossal foramen where the cranial redescription reported two.

    paulina-carabajal2019a