Huayracursor

Huayracursor is an extinct genus of early sauropodomorph dinosaurs known from the Late Triassic Santo [Domingo Formation (Argentina)|Santo Domingo Formation] of Argentina. The genus contains a single species, Huayracursor jaguensis, known from a partial articulated skeleton.

Discovery and naming

The Huayracursor holotype specimen, CRILAR-Pv 151, was discovered in outcrops of the Santo Domingo Formation near Vinchina in La [Rioja Province, Argentina|La Rioja Province], Argentina. The specimen consists of a nearly complete skeleton, including cranial remains, found in articulation.
In 2025, Hechenleitner and colleagues described Huayracursor jaguensis as a new genus and species of sauropodomorph dinosaur based on these fossil remains. The generic name, Huayracursor, Quechua word huayra, meaning "wind", with the Latin word cursor, meaning "runner". The specific name, jaguensis, references the Jagüé village.

Classification

In their 2025 phylogenetic analysis, Hechenleitner and colleagues recovered Huayracursor as an early-diverging member of the Sauropodomorpha. Their results placed Huayracursor, as the sister taxon to Bagualosaurus, as the earliest branch of the more inclusive clade Bagualosauria. These results are displayed in the cladogram below: