Teyuwasu

big lizard

• teyu · Guaraní · lizard
• wasu (guasu) · Guaraní · big

Teyuwasu comes from the Guaraní language, combining words for "lizard" and "big". The name means "big lizard". It refers to the animal's size compared with other early dinosaur-line reptiles from the same region. The type species, T. barberenai, honours the Brazilian paleontologist Mário Costa Barberena.

Named by

Kischlat

Year named

1999

Period

Late Triassic

Stage

Carnian

Found in

Santa Maria Formation, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Known only from fragmentary remains. It was first described as an early dinosaur but is now usually regarded as an indeterminate dinosauriform, and many researchers treat the name as a nomen dubium. Its status is debated, so treat the classification as uncertain.