Sacisaurus

Sacisaurus Temporal range: Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Skeletal reconstruction of Sacisaurus agudoensis. Known elements are in white.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dracohors
Family:	†Silesauridae
Clade:	†Sulcimentisauria
Genus:	†Sacisaurus Ferigolo & Langer 2006
Species
S. agudoensis Ferigolo & Langer 2006 (type)

Sacisaurus ("

Sacisaurus was approximately 1.1 metres (3.6 ft) long and 35 centimetres (1.15 ft) high, based on the largest femoral specimen.^[3] Some elements that were originally mentioned in the description study were reassigned to other taxa afterwards.^[4] Its long and strong legs indicate that it was a fast animal. The biggest teeth of the genus were just 3 millimetres (0.12 in) long.^[3]

The well-preserved

Sacisaurus was discovered in 2001 in the small municipality of Agudo, in the countryside of Rio Grande do Sul state. With 50 bones, scientists led by paleontologist Jorge Ferigolo assembled the skeleton and speculated on how the animal might have lived. The fossil was presented for the first time in the 2nd Latin American Congress of Vertebrate Paleontology in 2005. .

After the work of Brazilian scientists, the announcement of the discovery of the new species was made on November 1, 2006 at the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, where the bones were identified and the paper was published in the British scientific journal Historical Biology: A Journal of Paleobiology on October 30, 2006.^[1]

The discovery helped scientists to study the feeding habits of dinosaurs and their close relatives, since it is one of the oldest ever found.

References