The type species is S. placidus, first described by Kellner in 1999. The species epithet refers to Placido Cidade Nuvens [pt], who founded the Museu de Paleontologia da Universidade Regional do Cariri [pt].
Description
Size comparison
The holotype (MN 4802-V) is a juvenile partial skeleton consisting of three caudal vertebrae with chevrons, ischia, femora, tibia, fibula, pes, and soft tissue. The fossilized tissue includes a thin epidermis, muscle fibers, and possibly blood vessels. Skin impressions under the left foot are also preserved, showing scales. It was unearthed in 1996 from the Romualdo Formation (Santana Group) in the Ceará State, northeasternBrazil. While primarily known from hindquarter elements, the individual represented by the fossil may have reached 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length and 15 kilograms (33 lb) in mass. The fossil consists of bones from the pelvis, hindlimbs, and tail. These provide little information on its overall appearance. However, it was definitely a coelurosaur, and a few of its details suggest that it might be a member of the tyrannosauroids. It is presumed to be similar to Dilong and Guanlong in that it had long arms, three fingered hands, and slim hindlimbs.
Classification
Santanaraptor was originally thought to be a maniraptorantheropod when it was first discovered. However, it is now thought to be a basal coelurosaur based on several features present on the femur. Santanaraptor was tabulated by Holtz (2004) as the first tyrannosauroid known from Gondwana, a position also found by Delcourt and Grillo (2018). However, this position has been criticised, as the supposed tyrannosauroid characters are widely distributed in Coelurosauria, and several aspects of the foot are more similar to noasaurids.
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