Saturnalia
- Lived
- 237 to 227 million years ago, Late Triassic
- Group
- Early sauropodomorphs, Saturnaliidae
- Found in
- Brazil
- Named by
- Langer et al. 1999
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
230 million years ago
Habitat
River floodplains in what is now Brazil were home to early dinosaurs including Staurikosaurus, Gnathovorax and Buriolestes.
Field notes
About Saturnalia
What it was like
Saturnalia was one of the earliest relatives of the giant sauropods, but it was small and slender, with a small head and a long neck. It walked on two legs and probably ate plants and perhaps small animals.
Its world
It lived in the Late Triassic in what is now Brazil. Its bones come from the Santa Maria Formation, one of the richest sources of early dinosaurs, where it lived alongside the predators Staurikosaurus and Gnathovorax and the meat-eating Buriolestes.
How it was found
Langer and colleagues named Saturnalia in 1999. Its name comes from an ancient festival, because the bones were found during the carnival season.
Field gallery
More views of Saturnalia
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Saturnalia.
The evidence
The science behind Saturnalia
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Several partial skeletons preserve much of the backbone, shoulders, arms, hips and legs.
- Skull bones and a newly described snout show a small head with a short muzzle.
- Its pointed, serrated teeth were suited to eating small animals.
Borrowed from relatives
- Much of its body is known from its own bones; gaps in the skull can be filled by comparison with Buriolestes and other early sauropodomorphs.
Still unknown
- How much plant food it ate alongside small animals.
- Its skin covering and color.
- How its body changed from hatchling to adult.
Discovery timeline
- 1999Named itLanger et al.
- 2017How it fedBronzati et al.
- 2019SkullBronzati, Müller & Langer
- 2019Growing upGARCIA et al.
- 2024New findDamke et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Saturnalia
Named it
Named a slender early sauropodomorph from partial skeletons in the Santa Maria Formation.
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: 511-517
Read the paper : A sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Upper Triassic (Carman) of southern Brazil (opens in a new tab)How it fed
Scans of the braincase revealed enlarged regions involved in controlling head and eye movements, consistent with tracking prey.
Endocast of the Late Triassic (Carnian) dinosaur Saturnalia tupiniquim: implications for the evolution of brain tissue in Sauropodomorpha. Scientific Reports 7
Read the paper : Endocast of the Late Triassic (Carnian) dinosaur Saturnalia tupiniquim: implications for the evolution of brain tissue in Sauropodomorpha (opens in a new tab)Skull
Described skull bones and linked its small head and pointed teeth to catching small prey.
Skull remains of the dinosaur Saturnalia tupiniquim (Late Triassic, Brazil): With comments on the early evolution of sauropodomorph feeding behaviour. PLOS ONE 14: e0221387
Read the paper : Skull remains of the dinosaur Saturnalia tupiniquim (Late Triassic, Brazil): With comments on the early evolution of sauropodomorph feeding behaviour (opens in a new tab)Growing up
Compared hip bones and proposed that differences in muscle attachment marks among Saturnalia specimens might reflect growth.
A dinosaur ilium from the Late Triassic of Brazil with comments on key-character supporting Saturnaliinae. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 91
Read the paper : A dinosaur ilium from the Late Triassic of Brazil with comments on key-character supporting Saturnaliinae (opens in a new tab)New find
Described more individuals, including the first known snout, and confirmed that Saturnalia had a proportionally small head.
New specimens of Saturnalia tupiniquim (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha): insights into intraspecific variation, rostral anatomy, and skull size. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 202
Read the paper : New specimens of Saturnalia tupiniquim (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha): insights into intraspecific variation, rostral anatomy, and skull size (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Saturnaliidae
Sources: Wikidata