Pampadromaeus

Pampa runner

• Pampa · Quechua (via Spanish/Portuguese) · plain, grassland (the Pampa region)
• dromaios · Greek · runner

The name combines "Pampa", the grassland region of southern Brazil and neighbouring countries where the fossils were found, with a Greek word for "runner". It means "Pampa runner" and refers to the animal's light, agile build. The only named species, P. barberenai, honours Brazilian palaeontologist Mário Costa Barberena.

Named by

Cabreira et al.

Year named

2011

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Carnian

Found in

Santa Maria Formation, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

A small, early sauropodomorph dinosaur. Its exact position within early Saurischia has been debated, and it has been interpreted as a basal sauropodomorph.