#unaysaurus

[oneweirdreptileaday]

Unaysaurus tolentinoi

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[stavrosskundromichalis]

Unaysaurus tolentinoi was an early, sauropodomorph dinosaur found in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It lived during the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian).

It is known from an almost complete skull and partial skeleton with many of the bones still connected to each other in their natural positions.

Unaysaurus used a bipedal gait and was relatively small, only 2.5 meters long (8.2 ft), 70 to 80 centimeters tall (2 to 3 ft), and weighed about 70 kilograms (155 lb). It was probably herbivorous.

This restoration is based on the likelihood that proto-feathers were present in basal dinosaurs.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Unaysaurus tolentinoi

Source: artisticthingem

Name: Unaysaurus tolentinoi

Name Meaning: Black Water Lizard

First Described: 2004

Described By: Leal, Azevodo, Kellner, & da Rosa 

Classification: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Sauropomorpha, Plateosauria, Plateosauridae 

Unaysaurus is our first plateosaurid, and was found in the Caturrita Formation, near Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It lived in the late Carnian to early Norian ages of the Late Triassic, about 225 million years ago. It was still fairly small, like most early dinosaurs, and probably walked on two legs. It was the first confirmed sauropodomorph known from Brazil. It was about 2.5 meters long and would have been about 70 to 80 centimeters tall. It was mostly closely related to Plateosaurus, which lived in Germany, indicating that species were able to migrate easily across Pangaea. It lived alongside Staurikosaurus and Guaibasaurus. There were also many non-dinosaurs such as Sacisaurus, Jachaleria, a phytosaur, and stereospondyl. There were also many small tetropods in the region.  It was most likely an herbivore. 

Sources: 

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/u/unaysaurus.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unaysaurus

Shout out goes to rileyzard!

[palaeopedia]

Black water lizard, Unaysaurus (2004)

Phylum : Chordata Class : Reptilia Order : Saurischia Suborder : Sauropodomorpha Family : Plateosauridae Genus : Unaysaurus Species : U. tolentinoi

Late Triassic (225 Ma)

2,5 m long and 70 kg (size)

Caturrita formation, Brazil (map)

Unaysaurus lived between about 200 to 225 million years ago, in the Carnian or Norian age of the late Triassic period. It was found in the south of Brazil, which at the time was connected to northwest Africa. The whole world was united into the great supercontinent of Pangaea, which was just starting to divide into Laurasia in the north, and Gondwana in the south.

Unaysaurus was found in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, near the city of Santa Maria. It was recovered from the red beds of the Caturrita Formation, which is the geologic formation where similarly old dinosaurs like Saturnalia have been found. The oldest dinosaurs in the world are from here and nearby in Argentina (like the Eoraptor), which suggests that the first dinosaurs may have originated in the area.

Unaysaurus is the first prosauropod discovered in Brazil. Prosauropods were semi-bipedal, herbivorous dinosaurs that are related to the later and more advanced sauropods, which include some of the largest creatures ever to walk the Earth, like the Brachiosaurus. Staurikosaurus, another early dinosaur, has been discovered nearby, and it is possible that Teyuwasu, another Brazilian dinosaur described in 1999, is also a prosauropod.

Counter to expectations, however, the closest relative of Unaysaurus is not from South America. It is mostly closely related to the Plateosaurus, which lived about 210 million years ago in Germany. This indicates that species were able to migrate relatively easily across Pangaea.