| Panphagia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reconstruction of the fossil specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Family: | †Saturnaliidae |
| Genus: | †Panphagia Martínez & Alcober 2009 |
| Species: | †P. protos |
| Binomial name | |
| †Panphagia protos Martínez & Alcober 2009 | |
Panphagia is agenus ofsauropodomorphdinosaur described in 2009. It lived around 231 million years ago, during theCarnian age of theLate Triassic period in what is now northwesternArgentina. Fossils of the genus were found in the La Peña Member of theIschigualasto Formation in theIschigualasto-Villa Unión Basin.[1] The namePanphagia comes from theGreek wordspan, meaning "all", andphagein, meaning "to eat", in reference to its inferredomnivorous diet.Panphagia is one of the earliest known dinosaurs, and is an important find which may mark the transition of diet in early sauropodomorph dinosaurs.
Fossils ofPanphagia were found in late 2006 by the Argentinean paleontologist Ricardo N. Martínez in rocks of theIschigualasto Formation of Valle Pintado,Ischigualasto Provincial Park,San Juan Province,Argentina. The bones were found at approximately the same level as a 231.4 million year old ash layer, indicating it lived during the earlyCarnian of theLate Triassic.[1]Panphagia is currently known fromholotypePVSJ 874, the disarticulated remains of one partially grown individual of about 1.30 metres (4.3 ft) long. Portions of the skull,vertebrae,pectoral girdle,pelvic girdle, and hindlimb bones have been recovered. The russet-colored fossils were embedded in a greenish sandstone matrix and took several years to prepare and describe.[2]
Basal saurischian phylogeny simplified after Martinez and Alcober, 2009.[2] This is only one of many proposed cladograms for basal saurischians. |
Panphagia was described in 2009 by Ricardo N. Martínez and Oscar A. Alcober, both of the Museo de Ciencias Naturales, in San Juan, Argentina. They performed aphylogenetic analysis and found it to be the mostbasal known sauropodomorph dinosaur: the fossils shared similar features to those ofSaturnalia, an early sauropodomorph, including similarities in theischium,astragalus, and thescapular blade. Yet the fossils also exhibited similar features to those ofEoraptor, an early omnivorous sauropodomorph, including hollow bones, sublanceolate teeth, and overall proportions. Based on analysis and comparison of thePanphagia fossils and those of its closest kin, Martínez and Alcober concluded that the evolution of saurischian dinosaurs likely began with small, cursorial animals similar toPanphagia, and that there is a "general similarity among all of these basal dinosaurs [suggesting] that few structural changes stand" betweenPanphagia,Eoraptor, and two basal theropods which have yet to be described.[2]
Thetype species ofPanphagia isP. protos; thespecific name, meaning "the first" in Greek, is a reference to its basal position.[2]
The teeth ofPanphagia indicate a possible omnivorous diet, transitional in form between the mostly carnivorous theropods and the herbivorous sauropodomorphs. The teeth in the back of the jaw are shorter than those in the front, are leaf-shaped, and also have more marked serrations.[2]
