EXHIBIT 144
Saturnalia tupiniquim
Saturnalia was a small Brazilian sauropodomorph, combining a lightly built skeleton with evidence consistent with mixed feeding. [3]
TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST
Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.
Skeletal reconstruction by Maurissauro, with missing anatomy and posture restored. This older interpretation predates the 2024 cranial revision and is not a photograph of one complete skeleton. [4]
Saturnalia skeletal reconstruction · Maurissauro. CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized proportionally and converted to WebP; no anatomical edits. Same source license applies.
Skeletal mounts and drawings may restore missing parts; the caption identifies the displayed material.
Original cinematic interpretation informed by revised skull anatomy. Incomplete hands, full posture, soft tissues, colors and scenery are reconstructed choices. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.
Original artwork · artistic interpretation.
Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.
MEET THE ANIMAL
Saturnalia was an early dinosaur from Late Triassic southern Brazil. Its partial skeletons were found in red mudstones at Wald Sanga. The original description reconstructed one individual at about 1.5 metres long, filling in missing parts. That number refers to a particular reconstruction, not to a known largest adult or a measured range for every Saturnalia. [D1]
Its pelvis and hindlimbs suggest a lightly built animal that moved on two legs. Researchers use the shapes of joints and places where muscles attached to explore how the legs could move. The proposed motion was not restricted to a perfectly straight forward-and-back swing. This kind of analysis helps reconstruct movement without supplying a measured running speed. [D2]
Its teeth, head proportions and braincase support a mixed-feeding hypothesis that could include small prey. An omnivore is an animal capable of eating both plant and animal foods, but that label does not reveal the balance of each in Saturnalia's meals. The proposed feeding ability comes from anatomy; directly identified stomach contents are not part of this profile's evidence. [D3]
PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER
The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.
New snout material refines a previously incomplete head reconstruction. Diet and habitual movement remain functional interpretations rather than observations of a living animal. [D4] [D3]
Profile scope: Genus profile centered on Saturnalia tupiniquim. Type MCP 3844-PV, cranial paratype MCP 3845-PV and newer skull UFSM 11660A are separate individuals. [D1] [D4]
Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.
A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.
About 1.5 m; reconstructed type
The original description estimates MCP 3844-PV’s whole-body length. Missing anatomy is restored, including its originally unknown head; this is one fossil reference with unverified maturity, not an adult maximum. [D1]
About 10.6 kg; limb-based model
Benson’s model uses MCP 3844-PV limb measurements and an estimated humeral circumference. Maturity and an adult population range are unestablished. [D5]
Mixed feeding; small prey plausible
Cranial proportions, teeth and braincase anatomy support an omnivory hypothesis that includes small-prey capture. They do not identify stomach contents, specific prey or the proportion of plants eaten. [D3]
Carnian southern Brazil
The original individuals come from red mudstones at Wald Sanga, in the Santa Maria Formation of Rio Grande do Sul. A historically compared Zimbabwean proximal femoral fragment is not treated as a secure genus occurrence here. [D1]
Bipedal reconstruction with distinctive hindlimb motion
Pelvic and hindlimb anatomy supports a lightly built two-legged animal. The study reconstructs some movement outside a strictly fore-and-aft plane; speed and a single habitual posture are not measured. [D2]
A better-known head with numerous maxillary teeth
UFSM 11660A preserves newly informative snout material and at least 19 maxillary tooth positions. Earlier head restorations relied on incomplete jaws; the new evidence should not be transferred into a measured head for the type. [D4]
Not established here
Focused searches found no securely assigned eggs, nests, embryos or parental-care evidence. The reviewed skeletal specimens do not establish clutch size, incubation or reproductive maturity.
Not established here
The cranial study considers individual and developmental variation. It does not identify sexes or demonstrate displays, mate choice, vocalizations or courtship rituals. [D4]
Not established here
The original three partial individuals share a fossil locality. Their occurrence does not establish a persistent herd, family group or synchronized behavior. [D1]
Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.
THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS
Saturnalia’s new snout material changes how its head can be reconstructed. A silhouette based on the earliest partial jaws is a historical interpretation, not a complete skull recovered with the type. [4]
Its feeding profile combines cranial evidence with a functional hypothesis. “Omnivore” describes the proposed capability, while the actual balance of plants and animal food remains unknown. [3]
The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.
Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.
KEEP EXPLORING
Thecodontosaurus antiquus
Thecodontosaurus was a small British sauropodomorph whose limbs suggest agile bipedal movement and teeth suggest mainly plant feeding.
Anchisaurus polyzelus
Anchisaurus was a small North American sauropodomorph whose juvenile and mature skulls reveal changes during growth.
Eoraptor lunensis
Eoraptor was a small, early dinosaur from Argentina's Ischigualasto Formation. Its mixed dental features have produced competing feeding interpretations, and later studies place it near the origin of sauropodomorphs.
