Pronunciation: yoo-na-hee-SOR-us
Meaning: Black-Water Lizard
Author/s: Leal et al. (2004)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Discovery Chart Position: #553
Unaysaurus tolentinoi
(Tolentino's Black Water Lizard)Etymology
Unaysaurus is derived from the Tupi word "unay" — pronounced yoo-na-hee, meaning "black water", which in turn refers to Agua Negra (also "black water"), the Portuguese name for the region where the fossils were found — and the Greek "sauros" (lizard). The species epithet, tolentinoi, honors its discoverer, Mr Tolentino Flores Marafiga.
Discovery
The remains of Unaysaurus were discovered in the Caturrita Formation (Paraná Basin), poking out of a road construction site in the Água Negra district of the town of São Martinho da Serra, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, by retired refrigerator repairman Tolentino Flores Marafiga in 1998.
The holotype (UFSM11069) consists of an almost complete skull, complete with a lower jaw, and partial skeleton with many of the bones still connected to each other in their natural positions. It is one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons (and the most complete skull) ever recovered in Brazil.
Restudy of the holotype specimen in 2023, led Müller et al. to realise that a second, skeletally immature specimen was mingled with the remains, which doubled the total number of Unaysaurus specimens known from anywhere.
