Aratasaurus

fire lizard

• arata · Tupi · fire (born of fire)
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines a Tupi word for fire with the Greek word for lizard, giving roughly "fire lizard". It refers to the 2018 fire at Brazil's Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, which housed the fossil. The species name, museunacionali, also honours the museum.

Named by

Brum et al.

Year named

2021

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil

A small theropod from Brazil, usually described as a basal coelurosaur. The type species is Aratasaurus museunacionali. I am less sure of the exact formation, the stage and the full author list, so I have left the stages blank.