Saturnaliidae

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Saturnaliids
Temporal range: Late Triassic, 233.23–230  Ma
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Saturnalia NT small.jpg
Life restoration of Saturnalia tupiniquim
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Family: Saturnaliidae
Langer et al., 2019
Type species
Saturnalia tupiniquim
Langer et al., 1999
Genera
Synonyms

Saturnaliidae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs found in Brazil, Argentina and possibly Zimbabwe. [1] It is not to be confused with Saturnalidae, a family of radiolarian protists. [2]

Classification

In 2010, Martin Ezcurra defined the subfamily Saturnaliinae for the clade containing Saturnalia and Chromogisaurus , which were found to be close relatives in several studies. [1] While they are sometimes found to be a subgroup within the Guaibasauridae, [1] all recent studies have found the saturnaliines to form an independent lineage at the very base of the sauropodomorph family tree. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] At one point, Agnosphitys was recovered as a possible saturnaliine until it was recovered as a member of Silesauridae in 2017. [10] Langer and colleagues (2019) recovered Pampadromaeus and Panphagia as relatives of Saturnalia and Chromogisaurus, elevating Saturnaliinae to family rank as Saturnaliidae. In that particular paper, they recovered Guaibasaurus as a basal theropod. [11]

Additionally, Eoraptor , Buriolestes , Bagualosaurus and especially Nhandumirim are also possible members of this clade following their position in many recent phylogenetic analyses [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] and the new definition given by Langer et al. (2019), as "the maximal sauropodomorph clade to encompass Saturnalia but not Plateosaurus ." [11] In several of these analyses, Guaibasaurus is recovered as distantly related to Saturnalia, sometimes as a more basal sauropodomorph or saurischian, and in some cases specifically related to more derived taxa such as Macrocollum and Unaysaurus. This way a Guaibasauridae including Saturnalia and kin is no longer being supported.

Related Research Articles

<i>Eoraptor</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Eoraptor is a genus of small, lightly built, basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. One of the earliest-known dinosaurs and one of the earliest members of the sauropod family, it lived approximately 231 to 228 million years ago, during the Late Triassic in Western Gondwana, in the region that is now northwestern Argentina. The type and only species, Eoraptor lunensis, was first described in 1993, and is known from an almost complete and well-preserved skeleton and several fragmentary ones. Eoraptor had multiple tooth shapes, which suggests that it was omnivorous. Eoraptor was 1.5 feet (0.46 m) tall and 3 feet (0.91 m) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sauropodomorpha</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Sauropodomorpha is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, were quadrupedal, and became the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The prosauropods, which preceded the sauropods, were smaller and were often able to walk on two legs. The sauropodomorphs were the dominant terrestrial herbivores throughout much of the Mesozoic Era, from their origins in the Late Triassic until their decline and extinction at the end of the Cretaceous.

<i>Unaysaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Unaysaurus is a genus of unaysaurid sauropodomorph herbivore dinosaur. Discovered in southern Brazil, in the geopark of Paleorrota, in 1998, and announced in a press conference on Thursday, December 3, 2004, it is one of the oldest dinosaurs known. It is closely related to plateosaurid dinosaurs found in Germany, which indicates that it was relatively easy for species to spread across the giant landmass of the time, the supercontinent of Pangaea.

<i>Saturnalia tupiniquim</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herrerasauridae</span> Extinct family of basal saurischian dinosaurs

Herrerasauridae is a family of carnivorous dinosaurs, possibly basal to either theropods or even all of saurischians, or even their own branching from Dracohors, separate from Dinosauria altogether. They are among the oldest known dinosaurs, first appearing in the fossil record around 233.23 million years ago, before becoming extinct by the end of the Carnian stage. Herrerasaurids were relatively small-sized dinosaurs, normally no more than 4 metres (13 ft) long, although the holotype specimen of "Frenguellisaurus ischigualastensis" is thought to have reached around 6 meters long. The best known representatives of this group are from South America, where they were first discovered in the 1930s in relation to Staurikosaurus and 1960s in relation to Herrerasaurus. A nearly complete skeleton of Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis was discovered in the Ischigualasto Formation in San Juan, Argentina, in 1988. Less complete possible herrerasaurids have been found in North America and Africa, and they may have inhabited other continents as well.

<i>Herrerasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Herrerasaurus is likely a genus of saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic period. This genus was one of the earliest dinosaurs from the fossil record. Its name means "Herrera's lizard", after the rancher who discovered the first specimen in 1958 in South America. All known fossils of this carnivore have been discovered in the Ischigualasto Formation of Carnian age in northwestern Argentina. The type species, Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis, was described by Osvaldo Reig in 1963 and is the only species assigned to the genus. Ischisaurus and Frenguellisaurus are synonyms.

<i>Guaibasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Guaibasaurus is an extinct genus of basal saurischian dinosaur known from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Most analyses recover it as a sauropodomorph, although there are some suggestions that it was a theropod instead. In 2016 Gregory S. Paul estimated it at 2 meters and 10 kg, whereas in 2020 Molina-Pérez and Larramendi listed it at 3 meters and 35 kg.

<i>Lewisuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Lewisuchus is a genus of archosaur that lived during the Late Triassic. As a silesaurid dinosauriform, it was a member of the group of reptiles most commonly considered to be the closest relatives of dinosaurs. Lewisuchus was about 1 metre (3.3 ft) long. Fossils have been found in the Chañares Formation of Argentina. It exhibited osteoderms along its back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinosauromorpha</span> Clade of reptiles

Dinosauromorpha is a clade of avemetatarsalians that includes the Dinosauria (dinosaurs) and some of their close relatives. It was originally defined to include dinosauriforms and lagerpetids, with later formulations specifically excluding pterosaurs from the group. Birds are the only dinosauromorphs which survive to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guaibasauridae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

Guaibasauridae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs, known from fossil remains of late Triassic period formations in Brazil, Argentina and India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Maria Formation</span> Geologic formation in Brazil

The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is primarily Carnian in age, and is notable for its fossils of cynodonts, "rauisuchian" pseudosuchians, and early dinosaurs and other dinosauromorphs, including the herrerasaurid Staurikosaurus, the basal sauropodomorphs Buriolestes and Saturnalia, and the lagerpetid Ixalerpeton. The formation is named after the city of Santa Maria in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, where outcrops were first studied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silesauridae</span> Extinct family of dinosaur-like reptiles

Silesauridae is an extinct family of Triassic dinosauriforms. It is most commonly considered to be a clade of non-dinosaur dinosauriforms, and the sister group of dinosaurs. Some studies have instead suggested that most or all silesaurids comprised an early diverging clade or a paraphyletic grade within ornithischian dinosaurs. Silesaurids have a consistent general body plan, with a fairly long neck and legs and possibly quadrupedal habits, but most silesaurids are heavily fragmentary nonetheless. Furthermore, they occupied a variety of ecological niches, with early silesaurids being carnivorous and later taxa having adaptations for specialized herbivory. As indicated by the contents of referred coprolites, Silesaurus may have been insectivorous, feeding selectively on small beetles and other arthropods.

Chromogisaurus is an extinct genus of saturnaliid sauropodomorph which existed in Argentina during the Late Triassic (Carnian) period. It is from the Cancha de Bochas, Valle Pintado member of the Ischigualasto Formation. It was a herbivore about 2 metres in length, and was optionally quadrupedal.

<i>Eodromaeus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Eodromaeus is an extinct genus of probable basal theropod dinosaurs from the Late Triassic of Argentina. Like many other of the earliest-known dinosaurs, it hails from the Carnian-age Ischigualasto Formation, within the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin of northwestern Argentina. Upon its discovery, it was argued to be one of the oldest true theropods, supplanting its contemporary Eoraptor, which was reinterpreted as a basal sauropodomorph.

<i>Daemonosaurus</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Daemonosaurus is an extinct genus of possible theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic of New Mexico. The only known fossil is a skull and neck fragments from deposits of the latest Triassic Chinle Formation at Ghost Ranch. Daemonosaurus was an unusual dinosaur with a short skull and large, fang-like teeth. It lived alongside early neotheropods such as Coelophysis, which would have been among the most common dinosaurs by the end of the Triassic. However, Daemonosaurus retains several plesiomorphic ("primitive") traits of the snout, and it likely lies outside the clade Neotheropoda. It may be considered a late-surviving basal theropod or non-theropod basal saurischian, possibly allied to other early predatory dinosaurs such as herrerasaurids or Tawa.

Pampadromaeus is an extinct genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs known from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil.

<i>Buriolestes</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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 dinosauromorph Ixalerpeton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unaysauridae</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Unaysauridae is a clade of basal sauropodomorphs from the Late Triassic of India and Brazil.

<i>Macrocollum</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Macrocollum is a genus of unaysaurid sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period in what is now Brazil. It is one of the oldest dinosaurs known.

<i>Nhandumirim</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ezcurra, Martin D. (2010). "A new early dinosaur (Saurischia: Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of Argentina: a reassessment of dinosaur origin and phylogeny". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 8 (3): 371–425. Bibcode:2010JSPal...8..371E. doi:10.1080/14772019.2010.484650. S2CID   129244872.
  2. "IRMNG - Saturnalidae Deflandre, 1953 †". www.irmng.org. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  3. Cecilia Apaldetti; Ricardo N. Martinez; Oscar A. Alcober & Diego Pol (2011). Claessens, Leon (ed.). "A New Basal Sauropodomorph (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from Quebrada del Barro Formation (Marayes-El Carrizal Basin), Northwestern Argentina". PLOS ONE. 6 (11): e26964. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...626964A. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026964 . PMC   3212523 . PMID   22096511.
  4. 1 2 Pacheco, Cristian; Müller, Rodrigo T.; Langer, Max; Pretto, Flávio A.; Kerber, Leonardo; Dias da Silva, Sérgio (2019-11-08). "Gnathovorax cabreirai : a new early dinosaur and the origin and initial radiation of predatory dinosaurs". PeerJ. 7: e7963. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7963 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   6844243 . PMID   31720108.
  5. 1 2 Novas, Fernando E.; Agnolin, Federico L.; Ezcurra, Martín D.; Temp Müller, Rodrigo; Martinelli, Agustín G.; Langer, Max C. (October 2021). "Review of the fossil record of early dinosaurs from South America, and its phylogenetic implications". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 110: 103341. Bibcode:2021JSAES.11003341N. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2021.103341.
  6. 1 2 Garcia, Maurício S.; Müller, Rodrigo T.; Pretto, Flávio A.; Da-Rosa, Átila A. S.; Dias-Da-Silva, Sérgio (2021-01-02). "Taxonomic and phylogenetic reassessment of a large-bodied dinosaur from the earliest dinosaur-bearing beds (Carnian, Upper Triassic) from southern Brazil". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 19 (1): 1–37. Bibcode:2021JSPal..19....1G. doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1873433. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   232313141.
  7. 1 2 Müller, Rodrigo T. (April 2021). "A new theropod dinosaur from a peculiar Late Triassic assemblage of southern Brazil". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 107: 103026. Bibcode:2021JSAES.10703026M. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2020.103026. S2CID   229432076.
  8. 1 2 Müller, Rodrigo Temp; Garcia, Maurício Silva (August 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. ISSN   1744-9561. PMC   7480155 . PMID   32842895.
  9. 1 2 Müller, Rodrigo T; Langer, Max C; Bronzati, Mario; Pacheco, Cristian P; Cabreira, Sérgio F; Dias-Da-Silva, Sérgio (2018-05-15). "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. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly009. ISSN   0024-4082.
  10. Baron, M.G., Norman, D.B., and Barrett, P.M. (2017). A new hypothesis of dinosaur relationships and early dinosaur evolution. Nature, 543: 501–506. doi : 10.1038/nature21700
  11. 1 2 Langer MC, McPhee BW, Marsola JCdA, Roberto-da-Silva L, Cabreira SF (2019) Anatomy of the dinosaur Pampadromaeus barberenai (Saurischia—Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation of southern Brazil. PLoS ONE 14(2): e0212543. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212543