Pronunciation: STOH-ree-ko-SOR-us
Meaning: Southern Cross lizard
Author/s: Colbert (1970)
Synonyms: Teyuwasu barberenai? (Kischlat 1999)
First Discovery: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Discovery Chart Position: #221
Staurikosaurus pricei
(Price's southern cross lizard)Etymology
Staurikosaurus is derived from the Greek "staurikos" ("of a cross") which refers to the star constellation "The Southern Cross" (pictured in the coat of arms of Brazil) which is only visible in the southern hemisphere, and the Greek "sauros" (lizard). The species epithet, pricei, honours Brazilian paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price.
Discovery
The remains of Staurikosaurus were discovered in the Alemoa Member of the Santa Maria Formation, Alemõa, Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, by Llewellyn I. Price of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard College in 1936.
The holotype (MCZ 1669) is a partial skeleton, including most of the spine, the legs and the lower jaw.
