long as the femur, suggesting a proportionately large head; (ii) a fairly deep but thin dentary with 13 to 14 teeth and with a well-developed retroarticular process; (iii) a vertebral column with 9 to 10 cervical, 15 dorsal, 2 sacral, and more than 40 caudal vertebrae. Staurikosaurus is considered to be more primitive than any other dinosaur because only two sacral vertebrae are present; (iv) an elongated 3rd, 4th, and 5th cervical vertebrae, which represents a primitive condition; (v) cranial cervical vertebrae that lack epipophyses; (vi) the absence of accessory intervertebral articulations; (vii) a slender scapular blade that is not expanded proximally; (viii) a large and plate-like coracoid; (ix) a humerus featuring a prominent deltopectoral crest (represents a primitive condition) as well having distinctly expanded articular ends; (x) an ilium with an extensively developed medial wall of a semiperforate acetabulum (like Herrerasaurus, but unlike any other dinosaur); (xi) a long pubis, two-thirds the length of the femur; (xii) hollow limb bones that feature fairly thick walls; (xiii) a robust femur with an S-shaped shaft: and (xiv) a tibia and fibula slightly longer than the femur. Novas (1993) added that Staurikosaurus is distinguished from other dinosaurs based on the presence of a distal bevel on anterior margin of its pubis. Langer and Benton (2006) noted that Staurikosaurus can be distinguished based on the anterior trochanter being reduced to a scar. Bittencourt and Kellner (2009) also noted that the proximal fibula has a medial sulcus, which is unique to Staurikosaurus pricei. Discovery and occurrence Staurikosaurus means "Southern Cross" (after the star constellation visible from the Southern Hemisphere) and "Lizard" (from the Greek work "saurus" meaning lizard), thus "Southern Cross Lizard." The species name pricei is in the honor of Colbert's fellow paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price. The first known specimen of Staurikosaurus (MCZ 1669) was recovered from the Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco of the Santa Maria Formation, Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Staurikosaurus was found in mid-Carnian sediments. The genus name refers to the star constellation "The Southern Cross", pictured in the coat of arms of Brazil and only visible in the Southern Hemisphere—when Staurikosaurus was described in 1970, it was unusual to find dinosaurs in the Southern Hemisphere. The specific name honors the Brazilian paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price, who discovered it in 1936. It was described by Edwin Harris Colbert, working at the American Museum of Natural History. The rarity of