Staurikosaurus
| Staurikosaurus Temporal range: Upper Triassic, 225 mya |
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| Reconstructed skeleton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | Herrerasauridae |
| Genus: | †Staurikosaurus |
Staurikosaurus is a genus of Upper Triassic theropod dinosaurs.[1] It was a small, lightly built carnivore from Brazil.[2]
The rarity of Staurikosaurus remains may be a result of it being uncommon while alive, or because it lived in an environment like a forest, where fossils rarely form.[2]
Description [change]
At just 2.25 metres (7.4 ft),[3] 80 centimetres tall (31 in), and weighing just 30 kilograms (66 lb), Staurikosaurus was tiny in comparison to later theropods like Megalosaurus. Staurikosaurus and the related Herrerasaurus are definite theropods and evolved after the sauropod line had split from the Theropoda.
The fossil record of Staurikosaurus is poor, but the skeletal structure of the legs is known. Staurikosaurus was a quick runner for its size. It also had just two vertebrae joining the pelvis to the spine, a distinctly primitive arrangement.
References [change]
- ↑ Nesbitt S.J. et al. 2009. A complete skeleton of a late Triassic saurischian and the early evolution of dinosaurs. Science 326:1530-1533.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Staurikosaurus. In: Dodson, Peter et al. The age of dinosaurs. Publications International, p45 ISBN 0-7853-0443-6.
- ↑ Grillo O.N. and Azevedo S.A.K. 2011. Recovering missing data: estimating position and size of caudal vertebrae in Staurikosaurus pricei Colbert, 1970. Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences,
