Protuberum is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of traversodontid

Traversodontidae

Traversodontidae is a family of herbivorous cynodonts. Traversodonts were primarily Gondwanan, with many species known from Africa and South America. Recently, traversodonts have also been found from Europe and eastern North America. Traversodonts first appeared in the Middle Triassic, diversified...

 cynodont

Cynodont

Cynodontia or cynodonts are a taxon of therapsids which first appeared in the Late Permian and were eventually distributed throughout all seven continents by the Early Triassic . This clade includes modern mammals and their extinct close relatives. They were one of the most diverse groups of...

 known from a single species Protuberum cabralensis, from the Middle Triassic

Middle Triassic

In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided. It spans the time between 245 ± 1.5 Ma and 228 ± 2 Ma...

 of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

As with all genera of family Traversodontidae, Protuberum was an herbivore

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

, with a specialized grinding action when feeding.The two known specimens were collected a number of years apart from sediments of the Alemoa Member of the Santa Maria Formation

Santa Maria Formation

The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It has a late Ladinian – early Carnian age , and is notable for its fossils of early dinosaurs, including the herrerasaur Staurikosaurus, the basal saurischian Teyuwasu, and the basal sauropodomorph...

 in Geopark

Geopark

A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

 of Paleorrota

Paleorrota

Paleorrota , is a geopark located in the center of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The rocks and fossils found along the route date back to the times when there was only one supercontinent Pangaea....

, Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, Brazil. The first specimen was collected in 1977 and consists of several ribs and vertebrae. The second specimen, collected in 1989, consists of a partial articulated skeleton and a skull. Both specimens were collected by Father Daniel Cargnin

Daniel Cargnin

Daniel Cargnin, was a Brazilian priest and amateur paleontologist born in Nova Palma, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 1930. He died in 2002, and at his request was buried in the town of Mata....

. The genus name is in reference to the large amount of protuberances on the ribs and illia, while the species name is in honor of the Municipality of Novo Cabrais

Novo Cabrais

-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

, where the type specimen was collected.