Pampadromaeus barberenai

Pampadromaeus barberenai Cabreira, Schultz, Bittencourt, Soares, Fortier, Silva & Langer, 2011
Place: Santa Maria Formation, Alemoa Member;
Time: Late Triassic - Upper Carnian;
Size: 1,5m.
Etymology: . The generic name maximus means runner "from the Pampas", and specific name honours the Brazilian palaeontologist Mário C. Barberena.



New stem-sauropodomorph (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Triassic of Brazil
Sergio F. Cabreira, Cesar L. Schultz, Jonathas S. Bittencourt, Marina B. Soares and Daniel C. Fortier, et al.

Naturwissenschaften
DOI 10.1007/s00114-011-0858-0 Online First™, 14 November 2011
Abstract
Post-Triassic theropod, sauropodomorph, and ornithischian dinosaurs are readily recognized based on the set of traits that typically characterize each of these groups. On the contrary, most of the early members of those lineages lack such specializations, but share a range of generalized traits also seen in more basal dinosauromorphs. Here, we report on a new Late Triassic dinosaur from the Santa Maria Formation of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The specimen comprises the disarticulated partial skeleton of a single individual, including most of the skull bones. Based on four phylogenetic analyses, the new dinosaur fits consistently on the sauropodomorph stem, but lacks several typical features of sauropodomorphs, showing dinosaur plesiomorphies together with some neotheropod traits. This is not an exception among basal dinosaurs, the early radiation of which is characterized by a mosaic pattern of character acquisition, resulting in the uncertain phylogenetic placement of various early members of the group.