Pronunciation: steh-GOO-ross
Meaning: Roofed tail
Author/s: Soto-Acuña et al. (2021)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Magallanes, Chile
Discovery Chart Position: #1055
Stegouros elengassen
(Armoured beast with a roofed tail)Etymology
Stegouros is derived from the Greek "stego" (roof) and "uros" (tail), referring to
the flat, frond-like structure formed by seven pairs of large plates that covers the last fourteen tail vertebrae.
The species epithet, elengassen, refers to an armoured beast in the mythology of the local Tehuelche (aka Aónik'enk) people.
Discovery
The remains of Stegouros were discovered in the Dorotea Formation at Río de las Chinas Valley on Estancia Cerro Guido, Magallanes Region, southernmost Chile, by a group from the University of Texas at Austin in February 2018.
The holotype (CPAP-3165) consists of a mostly complete and articulated back end, including the tail, sacrum, pelvic girdle and hindlimbs, plus neck and back vertebrae, partial shoulder girdles, forelimbs (including a partially articulated right hand), osteoderms and several disarticulated skull bones.
Preparators
Felipe Suazo, Elaine Nuñez, Daniel Bajor, and Juan Pablo Guevara.
