A new giant carnivorous dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Patagonia

Coria, Rodolfo A.; Salgado, Leonardo

doi:10.1038/377224a0

Cited by 155 publications

(100 citation statements)

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“…Bicentenaria argentina comes from the Candeleros Formation which yielded other theropod dinosaurs such as the carcharodontosaurid Giganotosaurus carolini (Coria & Salgado 1995), the abelisaurid Ekrixinatosaurus novasi (Calvo et al, 2004), and the unenlagiid Buiteraptor gonzalezorum (Makovicky et al, 2005). Bicentenaria clearly differs from the first two taxa in being a much smaller animal of gracile construction, devoid of the synapomorphies characterizing carcharodontontosaurids and abelisaurids.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Patagonian Cretaceous theropod sheds light about the early radiation of Coelurosauria

Novas¹,

Ezcurra²,

Agnolín³

et al. 2012

MACN

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Abstract:Here we describe a new theropod, Bicentenaria argentina nov. gen. et nov. sp., from the early Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. It is represented by more than a hundred bones belonging to different sized individuals, which were buried together in disarticulation after little transportation. The available association of skeletal elements suggests a gregarious behaviour for Bicentenaria, an ethological trait also recorded among other theropod clades. Increasing documentation of monospecific assemblages of different groups of theropods suggests that a gregarious behaviour may have constituted the ancestral condition for Theropoda, at least. Bicentenaria characterizes for the surangular bone with a high dorsal margin and a prominent lateral shelf, a retroarticular process that is low, wide and spoon-shaped, and quadrate bone with its lateral condyle larger than the medial one. Phylogenetic analysis found the Chinese Tugulusaurus and the Patagonian Bicentenaria as successive sister taxa of all other coelurosaurs, thus revealing the importance of the new taxon in the understanding of the early diversification of Coelurosauria. In particular, Bicentenaria amplifies the array of basal coelurosaurs that inhabited Gondwana during the Cretaceous, also including compsognathids, Aniksosaurus and Santanaraptor. Although still restricted to a handful of forms, available information indicates that Gondwana was a cradle for the evolution of different lineages of basal coelurosaurs, different from those documented in Upper Cretaceous beds in the northern landmasses. Analysis of body size distribution in averostran theropods results in the identification of two main episodes of drastic size reduction in the evolutionary history of Coelurosauria: one occurred at the initial radiation of the group (as represented by Bicentenaria, Zuolong, Tugulusaurus, compsognathids, and Aniksosaurus), and a second episode occurred at the early diverification of Paraves or avialans. Reduction in body size may have allowed adult coelurosaurians to exploit ecological niches not occupied before by larger basal averostrans.Key words: Coelurosauria, gregarism, body size reduction, Cretaceous, South America.Resumen: Nuevo terópodo del Cretácico de Patagonia brinda nuevas evidencias acerca de la radiación temprana de Coelurosauria. En la presente contribución se describe el nuevo terópodo Bicentenaria argentina nov. gen. et nov. sp., del Cretácico Tardío temprano de Patagonia. El nuevo taxón se encuentra representado por más de una centena de huesos pertenecientes a individuos de diferentes tamaños, los cuales fueron enterrados todos juntos en desarticulación, luego de un leve transporte. La asociación disponible de materiales sugiere hábitos gregarios para Bicentenaria, un rasgo etológico también registrado en otros clados de terópodos. La documentación recurrente de asociaciones monoespecíficas de diferentes grupos de terópodos sugiere que los hábitos gregarios pudieron haber constituido la condición ancestral para Theropoda. Bicentenaria se caract...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Patagonian Cretaceous theropod sheds light about the early radiation of Coelurosauria

Novas¹,

Ezcurra²,

Agnolín³

et al. 2012

MACN

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“…This record includes Argentinosaurus huinculensis, one of the largest sauropods currently known (Bonaparte and Coria, 1993); Amargasaurus cazuai, a peculiar sauropod with large spines (Salgado and Bonaparte, 1991); and the large theropod Giganotosaurus carolinii (Coria and Salgado, 1995), among others. In particular, most dinosaur species from Argentina have been found in Upper Cretaceous strata of the Neuquén Group, northern Patagonia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bone microstructure and diagenesis of saurischian dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous (Neuquén Group), Argentina

Previtera

2017

andgeo

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ABSTRACT. The Neuquén Basin in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, holds the most important record of Cretaceous dinosaurs in South America.The Neuquén Group (Upper Cretaceous) is the richest dinosaur-bearing unit of the basin. It comprises the Río Limay, the Río Neuquén and the Río Colorado subgroups. In this study, dinosaur remains from the Río Neuquén and the Río Colorado subgroups outcropping in Mendoza are examined. In this group, isolated, disarticulated or partially articulated sauropods and theropods are abundant. However, little is known about the diagenetic history of fossil assemblages. In southern Mendoza, three fossiliferous sites were found in the areas of Paso de las Bardas (Quebrada Norte) and Cerro Guillermo (CG1, CG2). This study aims to add to the knowledge of diagenetic processes involving dinosaur remains from the Neuquén Group, as well as their relation to the depositional environment. Histologic features and diagenetic processes of dinosaur bones were analyzed through thin sections in order to interpret the degree of taphonomic alteration. The fossil-diagenetic processes inferred include substitution, fracturing, plastic deformation and different permineralization events. Combined analyses through X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and petrographic studies reveal the substitution of hydroxyapatite by francolite. The presence of fluorine -in one of the cases-suggests a link between the elemental composition and depositional environments: floodplain and fluvial channel. Permineralization stages include infilling of vascular canals, trabeculae and fractures with iron oxides and iron carbonate minerals during the burial history. This contribution represents an integral approach to the study of Cretaceous dinosaurs for assessing the diagenetic changes in the bone microstructure and the differential preservation of fossil remains in fluvial environments.

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“…These ichnites are comparable in size (mean hip height ~3 m) with carcharodontosaurids such as Giganotosaurus, as was previously referred (Calvo and Mazzetta, 2004) from the early Late Cretaceous of Argentina (Coria and Salgado, 1995;Calvo and Coria, 1998;Novas et al, 2005). However, theropod remains of this size have not yet been found on the western portion of Gondwana.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Pistas de dinosaurios teropodos del Cretacico Inferior de la Formacion Chacarilla, Norte de Chile.Theropod Dinosaur Trackways from the Lower Cretaceous of the Chacarilla Formation, Chile.

Rubilar-Rogers¹,

Moreno²,

Blanco³

et al. 2008

Andgeo

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ABSTRACT. We describe sixteen theropod dinosaur trackways from site III (Lower Cretaceous?) of the Quebrada Chacarilla in the Chacarilla Formation (Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous), northern Chile. The trackbed belongs to a meandering river environment, with recurrent track assemblages. We fi nd that the main direction of the ichnites from site III parallels that of water fl ow. Two theropod footprint morphotypes are recognized: A) digit II and IV occupying about 0.5 times the total footprint length, and B) digit II and IV occupying less than 0.35 times the total footprint length. We estimate similar speed (~7 km/h) for the two parallel theropod trackways of morphotype A, suggesting synchro nized walking. We also describe some of the largest theropod footprints from South America (>60 cm), which are all of morphotype B. RESUMEN. Pistas de dinosaurios terópodos del Cretácico Inferior de la Formación Chacarilla, Norte de Chile.Se describen dieciséis pistas de dinosaurios terópodos localizadas en el sitio III (Cretácico Inferior?) de la Formación Chacarilla (Jurásico-Cretácico Inferior) en Quebrada Chacarilla, norte de Chile. La unidad con huellas fue depositada en un ambiente de río meandriforme y presenta recurrentes niveles con asociaciones de trazas. Las icnitas tienen una dirección paralela a la dirección del fl ujo de agua. Dos morfotipos de huellas de terópodos fueron reconocidos: A) Con los dígitos II y IV, ocupando cerca de 0,5 veces el largo total de la huella y B) con los dígitos II y IV ocupando menos de 0,35 veces la longitud total de la huella. Estimaciones de similar velocidad (~7 km/h) de dos pistas paralelas pertenecientes al morfotipo A, sugieren caminata sincronizada. Además, describimos algunas de las huellas de terópodos más grandes de América del Sur (>60 cm), las que corresponden al morfotipo B.

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A new giant carnivorous dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Patagonia

Cited by 155 publications

References 2 publications

New Patagonian Cretaceous theropod sheds light about the early radiation of Coelurosauria

New Patagonian Cretaceous theropod sheds light about the early radiation of Coelurosauria

Bone microstructure and diagenesis of saurischian dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous (Neuquén Group), Argentina

Pistas de dinosaurios teropodos del Cretacico Inferior de la Formacion Chacarilla, Norte de Chile.Theropod Dinosaur Trackways from the Lower Cretaceous of the Chacarilla Formation, Chile.

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