Saturnalia feet

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org
Subject: Saturnalia feet

Sorry to say, the description of Saturnalia does not 
provide much detail about the right hind foot, the only 
foot material preserved. There is a photo of the 
reconstructed right hindlimb and here are a few of the 
comments made about the ankle and metatarsals:

"..from its slender tibia, fibulas and metatarsals, the 
new taxon is not as robust as most basal sauropodomorphs."

"The ankle joint morphology of Saturnalia is similar to 
that of Herrarasaurus (Novas, 1989) with a broad ascending 
process of the astragulus. However, this process is more 
derived in the new taxon, being separated from the 
anterior margin of the bone by a platform; a feature 
shared with theropods and other sauropodomorphs. In 
addition, the process is laterally elongated, resembling 
the condition seen in prosauropod dinosaurs (Novas, 1989; 
Galton, 1990)."

No clues about claws on the manus based on available 
material.