Nhandumirim waldsangae

"small rhea"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Nhandumirim 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Late Triassic (233 Mya)
Place
South America · Brazil
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.

Nhandumirim (meaning “small rhea” in the Tupi language) is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Carnian age of Late Triassic Brazil. It is currently considered a saturnaliid sauropodomorph. The type and only species, Nhandumirim waldsangae, is known from a single immature specimen including vertebrae, a , pelvic material, and a hindlimb found in the Santa Maria Formation in Rio Grande do Sul.

Nhandumirim is differentiated from other Santa Maria dinosaurs such as Staurikosaurus and Saturnalia on the basis of its more gracile, long-legged proportions and several more specific skeletal features. However, it is noteworthy that the holotype is an immature individual. Several features of the tibia led the describers to consider the genus to be possibly the earliest theropod, but some analyses in their study offer alternative positions within Saurischia.

What we know

  • Named by Marsola et al. 2019.
  • Fossils found in South America and Brazil.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Nhandumirim — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.