Fun Guaibasaurus Facts For Kids

The Guaibasaurus is a genus of saurischian dinosaurs that walked the surface of the earth during the Late Triassic age. The name Guaibasaurus means ‘the Guaiba lizard’.

The type species, Guaibasaurus candelariensis, was described in the year 1999 by J. Ferigolo and Jose Bonaparte. The fossil remains of the type species, G. candelariensis, were found in the Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.

Not much is known about the diet of this Triassic member of the Dinosauria clade. From the fossils collected, the complete skeleton has not been derived. Only partial remains have been discovered. It has been suggested that this dinosaur of Brazil rested in a posture resembling that of sleeping birds.

Join us in the discovery of other interesting dinosaurs which roamed the earth, such as the Heterodontosaurus and Ostafrikasaurus!

Guaibasaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Guaibasaurus'?

The name 'Guaibasaurus' is pronounced as 'Gu-ay-bah-sore-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Guaibasaurus?

They are a type of basal saurischian dinosaur. It is said that this dinosaur was most probably a sauropodomorph or a basal theropod.

In which geological period did the Guaibasaurus roam the earth?

Guaiba lizards are known to have existed during the Late Triassic period.

When did the Guaibasaurus become extinct?

These dinosaurs became extinct almost 225.42 million years ago.

Where did a Guaibasaurus live?

The Guaibasaurus location suggests that these dinosaurs lived around the Caturrita Formation, situated in the Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil.

What was a Guaibasaurus' habitat?

This dinosaur of the Late Triassic period preferred terrestrial habitats.

Who did a Guaibasaurus live with?

Unfortunately, we do not know who this basal dinosaur lived with.

How long did a Guaibasaurus live?

Sorry, there is not much known on the history of the Guaiba lizard.

How did they reproduce?

Sorry, we are not aware of how the Guaiba lizard (order Saurischia) reproduced.

Guaibasaurus Fun Facts

What did a Guaibasaurus look like?

The Guaibasaurus specimen was originally named based on the MCN PV2355 holotype, which is a partial postcranial skeleton that is well-preserved, as well as the paratype, MCN PV2356, a nearly complete hindlimb of the left portion. Both these fossils were unearthed in Candelária of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, in the Sesmaria do Pinhal 2 locality.

This region is towards the upper portion of the Caturrita Formation or the Candelária Sequence.

Sometime later, two additional specimens joined to be called the type species G. candelariensis. The UFRGS PV0725T, which was a nearly complete postcranial skeleton that lacked the neck, a forelimb, and both feet and the MCN PV 10112, which is an incomplete block containing some isolated elements, such as a partial hand.

These materials were all collected from the town of Faxinal do Soturno in the Rio Grande do Sul and also in the upper portion of the Caturrita Formation or the Candelária Sequence.

The UFRGS PV0725T fossil is articulated with the hindlimbs being tucked underneath the body, and the forelimbs extended to the side.

Though most portion of the neck is not preserved, the vertebrae located towards the base of the neck are observed in the UFRGS PV0725T, which have been noticeably curved to the left, suggesting that the entire neck was mostly curved towards the left.

This skeleton posture has been compared with the resting position of most birds, and also in advanced Maniraptoran dinosaurs that are closely related to all birds. Additionally, it has also been seen in the dinosauriform Saltopus.

It is thought that just like living birds, this dinosaur probably rested in the same position, probably with the intention to conserve body heat.

How many bones did a Guaibasaurus have?

Unfortunately, the discovery of the entire Guaiba lizard skeleton is not complete. Only a partial portion of the fossils have been unearthed.

How did they communicate?

Unfortunately, there is nothing described of the way this Late Triassic species communicated.

How big was a Guaibasaurus?

Earlier estimates in 2016 by Gregory S. Paul suggested that this dinosaur grew to a height of about 6.6 ft (2m). However, this was later altered by Molina-Pérez and Larramendi in 2020, when they listed this dinosaur as having a length of about 10 ft (3 m).

In comparison, the Bagaceratops rozhdestvensky can be considered. The Guaibasaurus was about four times the size of the Bagaceratops rozhdestvensky.

How fast could a Guaibasaurus move?

Sorry, there is not much information on the movement of these dinosaurs.

How much did a Guaibasaurus weigh?

Gregory S. Paul estimated the Guaiba lizard to weigh about 22 lb (10 kg) in his initial studies during 2016. Fast forward to 2020, Molina-Pérez and Larramendi suggested that this dinosaur actually weighed around 77 lb (35 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

A female basal dinosaur of this genus can be called a Guaibasaura, while a male dinosaur can be referred to as a Guaibasaur.

What would you call a baby Guaibasaurus?

In general, you can simply call a baby dinosaur a hatchling.

What did they eat?

Unfortunately, there is not much-collected information on the Guaibasaurus diet! Yikes!

How aggressive were they?

Sorry, there is not much described on the behavior of the Guaiba Lizard.

Did you know...

In their description presented in 1999, José Bonaparte and colleagues found that it was possible for the Guaiba lizard to be a basal theropod, placing it in a separate family, the Guaibasauridae.

In 2007, Bonaparte and his colleagues came across another earlier Brazilian dinosaur called the Saturnalia which was quite similar to the former specimen and included the new dinosaur in the Guaibasauridae family, which was concluded to be a primitive saurischian group.

With these two members of the Saurischia order, Bonaparte discovered that these probably were prosauropods or primitive sauropodomorphs. Another alternative could have been that these specimens were an assemblage of the forms close to the probable ancestor common to both theropods and sauropodomorphs.

However, Bonaparte considered the Guaibasaurus and Saturnalia to be closer to the theropod type, than the prosauropod type.

Cladistic analyses of recent times have however disagreed with the placement of the Guaibasaurus genus. Some seem to conclude this dinosaur being a basal theropod, some believe it is a basal sauropodomorph.

Other members of the Guaibasauridae family are quite often seen as basal sauropodomorphs, and might actually not form a common clade with the Guaibasaurus.

Did they take care of their babies?

Yikes, there is no collected information on this basal dinosaur of Brazil in connection to their babies.

How did Guaibasaurus get their name?

The basal dinosaur of the Late Triassic period, Guaibasaurus, was first named by Jorge Ferigolo, Ana Maria Ribeiro and José F. Bonaparte in 1999. The type species, G. candelariensis is named by them as well.

The generic name was titled honoring the Rio Guaiba hydrographic basin, where the earlier holotype fossils were discovered under the Pro-Guaiba Project. The Pro-Guaiba Project was a scientific program that supported extensive research and allowed people to explore the fossils belonging to the Triassic period.

The specific name is named after the region near the fossil locality where the holotype was discovered, Candelaria.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Yinlong facts and Metriorhynchus facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Guaibasaurus coloring pages.

Main image by Nobu Tamura 

Second image by Leví Bernardo Martínez