Pronunciation: sat-uhr-NAY-lee-uh
Meaning: for Saturnalia (Roman festival)
Author/s: Langer et al. (1999)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Discovery Chart Position: #454
Saturnalia tupiniquim
Despite being slight of build, Saturnalia's jaw, skull, teeth, vertebrae and robust forelimbs are all sauropodomorph (the great saurischian lineage that led to the colossal, four-legged, foliage decimaters known as sauropods). But its hindquarters seem to have more in common with theropods (the carnivorous, two-legged branch of Saurischia that includes the likes of T.rex and Velociraptor), particularly its longer shin to thigh ratio which suggests a swift-running critter.
This weird combination of features prompted Jose Bonaparte to plonk Saturnalia alongside the equally strange Chromogisaurus, Agnosphitys, Panphagia and Guaibasaurus in a family called Guaibasauridae; the archaic sauropodomorphs that moved on two legs and were probably omnivorous judging by their "heterodont dentition" (different kinds of teeth, for various tasks, in the same mouth), but this courted controversy.
Guaibasaurids may turn out to be closer to theropods as Bonaparte initially suspected, or be theropods proper, or straddle the crossroads that saw Theropoda split from Sauropodomorpha. However, recent studies have failed to recover "Guaibasauridae" as a valid grouping as its members don't appear to be their own closest relatives, and the group anchor Guaibasaurus may indeed be a theropod, though a rather primitive one.
This weird combination of features prompted Jose Bonaparte to plonk Saturnalia alongside the equally strange Chromogisaurus, Agnosphitys, Panphagia and Guaibasaurus in a family called Guaibasauridae; the archaic sauropodomorphs that moved on two legs and were probably omnivorous judging by their "heterodont dentition" (different kinds of teeth, for various tasks, in the same mouth), but this courted controversy.
Guaibasaurids may turn out to be closer to theropods as Bonaparte initially suspected, or be theropods proper, or straddle the crossroads that saw Theropoda split from Sauropodomorpha. However, recent studies have failed to recover "Guaibasauridae" as a valid grouping as its members don't appear to be their own closest relatives, and the group anchor Guaibasaurus may indeed be a theropod, though a rather primitive one.
Etymology
Strangely for a dinosaur which was discovered in Brasil, Saturnalia is named after Saturnalia; a Roman festival held in honour of the god Saturn (known as Cronus, the youngest of the Titans, in Greek mythology) because it was discovered during the feasting period. The Saturnalia began as a single day affair to lift the spirits after a crushing military defeat at the hands of the Carthaginians in 217 bc, then gradually increased to a week long extravaganza! Sometime later, the powers that be unsuccessfully attempted to limit the festivities to three days, then came back with an improved offer of five days, in an attempt to get the lazy buggers back to work. But the Roman citizens had grown quite attached to an annual seven days of feasting, gambling, role reversals, free speech, gift-giving, revelry, and exemption from the punishment that would arrive after such behaviour under normal circumstances, and were having none of it.
The species epithet, tupiniquim (too-pee-NEE-keem), is a Portugese word of indigenous-Guarani-origin, and is an endearing way of referring to things that are native to Brazil.
Discovery
The remains of Saturnalia were discovered in the Alemoa beds (rhynchosaur biozone) of the Santa María Formation, northern slope of Cerriquito Mount, "Wald-Sanga", eastern outskirts of the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 1998 during fieldwork by the Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.The holotype, MCP 3844-PV, is a well-preserved semi-articulated skeleton.
