Outline: a typical early dinosaur
Staurikosaurus
STOR-ik-oh-SORE-us
"Southern Cross lizard"
Type species Staurikosaurus pricei
- Lived
- 237 to 227 million years ago, Late Triassic
- Length
- about 2 m (7 ft)
- Group
- Early dinosaurs, Herrerasauridae
- Found in
- Brazil
- Named by
- Colbert 1970
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical early dinosaur shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
230 million years ago
Field notes
About Staurikosaurus
What it was like
Staurikosaurus was one of the earliest dinosaurs, a slim two-legged predator about 2 meters (7 feet) long. It belonged to the herrerasaurids, a family of early hunters with sharp, curved teeth and a long tail for balance.
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. Other early dinosaurs from these rocks include the small plant eater Saturnalia and the predator Gnathovorax.
How it was found
Colbert named Staurikosaurus in 1970. The type species is Staurikosaurus pricei. Its name comes from a star pattern seen only from the Southern Hemisphere, and it was one of the first Triassic dinosaurs described from South America.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Herrerasauridae
Sources: WikidataNamed in: E. H. Colbert. 1970. A saurischian dinosaur from the Triassic of Brazil. American Museum Novitates 2405:1-39