New carnivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of NW Patagonia and the evolution of abelisaurid theropods

A nearly complete skeleton of the new abelisaurid Skorpiovenator bustingorryi is reported here. The holotype was found in Late Cenomanian-Early Turonian outcrops of NW Patagonia, Argentina. This new taxon is deeply nested within a new clade of South American abelisaurids, named Brachyrostra. Within...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Canale, Juan Ignacio, Scanferla, Carlos Agustín, Agnolin, Federico, Novas, Fernando Emilio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2009
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/52024
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/52024
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:ABELISAURIDAE
CRETACEOUS
PATAGONIA
THEROPODA
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:A nearly complete skeleton of the new abelisaurid Skorpiovenator bustingorryi is reported here. The holotype was found in Late Cenomanian-Early Turonian outcrops of NW Patagonia, Argentina. This new taxon is deeply nested within a new clade of South American abelisaurids, named Brachyrostra. Within brachyrostrans, the skull shortening and hyperossification of the skull roof appear to be correlated with a progressive enclosure of the orbit, a set of features possibly related to shock-absorbing capabilities. Moreover, the development of horn-like structures and differential cranial thickening appear to be convergently acquired within Abelisauridae. Based on the similarities between Skorpiovenator and carcharodontosaurid tooth morphology, we suggest that isolated teeth originally referred as post-Cenomanian Carcharodontosauridae most probably belong to abelisaurids. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.