Saturnalia

festival of Saturn (Roman Saturnalia festival)

• Saturnalia · Latin · the Roman festival of Saturn, held in December

Saturnalia is named after the ancient Roman winter festival of Saturn, the Saturnalia, which was celebrated in December. The name alludes to the time of year, around the Christmas season, when the fossils were found in southern Brazil. The only species is Saturnalia tupiniquim, with the species name honouring the Tupiniquim, an Indigenous people of Brazil.

Named by

Langer et al.

Year named

1999

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Carnian

Found in

Santa Maria Formation, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

A small, early, bipedal dinosaur usually regarded as one of the most primitive known sauropodomorphs (the group that later includes the long-necked sauropods), though some analyses have placed it differently among early dinosaurs.