Analysis of diversity, stratigraphic and geographical distribution of isolated theropod teeth from the Upper Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal

Malafaia, Elisabete; Escaso, Fernando; Mocho, Pierre; Serrano-Martínez, Alejandro; Hernández, Angélica Torices; Cachão, Mário; Ortega, Francisco

doi:10.1007/s41513-017-0021-7

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Other large Late Jurassic theropods from Europe have been reported on the basis of isolated teeth ( De Lapparent, 1943 ; Buffetaut & Martin, 1993 ; Rauhut & Kriwet, 1994 ; Canudo et al, 2006 ; Ruiz-Omeñaca et al, 2009c ; Cobos et al, 2014 ; Gerke & Wings, 2016 ; Malafaia et al, 2017b ), and some of these specimens might represent animals that match MUJA-1913 in size (e.g. specimen described by Cobos et al (2014) ; largest specimens described by Malafaia et al (2017b) ). However, as relative tooth size varies widely in theropods, a direct size comparison is impossible.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, whereas megalosaurids are rare in the Kimmeridgian–Tithonian Morrison Formation of the western US ( Foster, 2003 ; Rauhut, Hübner & Lanser, 2016 ), and unknown from the Late Jurassic of Asia, they seem to be abundant and wide-spread in the Late Jurassic of Europe. From the Lusitanian Basin, the large megalosaurid Torvosaurus guerneyi and several other megalosaurid postcranial specimens, numerous teeth, as well as eggs and embryos were described ( Antunes & Mateus, 2003 ; Mateus, Walen & Antunes, 2006 ; Malafaia et al, 2008b , 2017a , 2017b ; Araújo et al, 2013 ; Hendrickx & Mateus, 2014 ). From the Late Jurassic Villar del Arzobispo Formation of the Iberian Range, Gascó et al (2012) and Cobos et al (2014) referred isolated teeth to the Megalosauridae, including the largest tooth specimen found in these rocks ( Cobos et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The largest European theropod dinosaurs: remains of a gigantic megalosaurid and giant theropod tracks from the Kimmeridgian of Asturias, Spain

Rauhut

Piñuela

Castanera

et al. 2018

PeerJ

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The Kimmeridgian Vega, Tereñes and Lastres formations of Asturias have yielded a rich vertebrate fauna, represented by both abundant tracks and osteological remains. However, skeletal remains of theropod dinosaurs are rare, and the diversity of theropod tracks has only partially been documented in the literature. Here we describe the only non-dental osteological theropod remain recovered so far, an isolated anterior caudal vertebra, as well as the largest theropod tracks found. The caudal vertebra can be shown to represent a megalosaurine megalosaurid and represents the largest theropod skeletal remain described from Europe so far. The tracks are also amongst the largest theropod footprints reported from any setting and can be assigned to two different morphotypes, one being characterized by its robustness and a weak mesaxony, and the other characterized by a strong mesaxony, representing a more gracile trackmaker. We discuss the recently proposed distinction between robust and gracile large to giant theropod tracks and their possible trackmakers during the Late Jurassic-Berriasian. In the absence of complete pedal skeletons of most basal tetanurans, the identity of the maker of Jurassic giant theropod tracks is difficult to establish. However, the notable robustness of megalosaurine megalosaurids fits well with the described robust morphotypes, whereas more slender large theropod tracks might have been made by a variety of basal tetanurans, including allosaurids, metriocanthosaurids or afrovenatorine megalosaurids, or even exceptionally large ceratosaurs. Concerning osteological remains of large theropods from the Late Jurassic of Europe, megalosaurids seem to be more abundant than previously recognized and occur in basically all Jurassic deposits where theropod remains have been found, whereas allosauroids seem to be represented by allosaurids in Western Europe and metriacanthosaurids in more eastern areas. Short-term fluctuations in sea level might have allowed exchange of large theropods between the islands that constituted Europe during the Late Jurassic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The largest European theropod dinosaurs: remains of a gigantic megalosaurid and giant theropod tracks from the Kimmeridgian of Asturias, Spain

Rauhut

Piñuela

Castanera

et al. 2018

PeerJ

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“…With a CH of 145.5 mm, the largest known theropod crowns belong to the megalosaurid Torvosaurus gurneyi (SHN.401 and SHN.450; CBL of 48 mm) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal (Malafaia et al, 2017a(Malafaia et al, , 2017b. Other taxa may have possessed larger crowns: the spinosaurid Spinosaurus (CBL of 51 mm in Lmx4 of MSNM V4047 preserving the crown base only); the tyrannosaurid Tyrannosaurus (CH of 139 mm in Rdt3 of FMNH PR2081, the highest crown measured for this taxon; C.H.…”

Section: Crown Height Higher Than 60 MMmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Teeth, and particularly tooth enamel, are robust skeletal elements (Hillson, 2005), and most toothed theropods had 50 or more teeth that were replaced every one to two years (Fiorillo and Currie, 1994;Erickson, 1996). Consequently, theropod teeth are one of the most common fossils in terrestrial Mesozoic formations (e.g., Erickson, 1996;Smith et al, 2005;Blob and Badgley, 2007) and are constantly reported in the literature (e.g., Currie et al, 1990;Rauhut and Werner, 1995;Baszio, 1997;Zinke, 1998;Sankey et al, 2002;Sweetman, 2004;Maganuco et al, 2005;Vullo et al, 2007;Larson, 2008;Casal et al, 2009;Lubbe et al, 2009;Ősi et al, 2010;Han et al, 2011;Sues and Averianov, 2013;Larson and Currie, 2013;Richter et al, 2013;Torices et al, 2015;Kear et al, 2013;Madzia, 2014;Hendrickx and Mateus, 2014a;Cobos et al, 2014;Tavares et al, 2014;Fanti et al, 2014;Brusatte and Clark, 2015;Csiki-Sava et al, 2016;Gerke and Wings, 2016;Alonso et al, 2017;Malafaia et al, 2017a;Avrahami et al, 2018;Frederickson et al, 2018;…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distribution of dental features in non-avian theropod dinosaurs: Taxonomic potential, degree of homoplasy, and major evolutionary trends

Hendrickx

Mateus

Araújo

et al. 2019

Palaeontol Electron

150

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“…The Portuguese Upper Jurassic record of theropod dinosaurs comprises members of deeply nested clades that are abundant and diverse in Cretaceous faunas. It includes Carcharodontosauria (Malafaia et al, 2019), Tyrannosauroidea (Rauhut, 2003a), and a great diversity of maniraptorans (Zinke and Rauhut, 1994;Zinke, 1998;Hendrickx and Mateus, 2014a;Malafaia et al, 2017b). The Portuguese specimens represent some of the earliest evidence of these clades in Laurasia and have significant implications for understanding the paleobiogeographic context and dynamics of Late Jurassic theropod fauna in the peri-Atlantic realm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new carcharodontosaurian theropod from the Lusitanian Basin: evidence of allosauroid sympatry in the European Late Jurassic

Malafaia

Mocho

Escaso

et al. 2020

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

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Carcharodontosaurian allosauroids were temporally restricted to the Cretaceous, being known from all land masses with the exception of Antarctica. In addition to Veterupristisaurus from Tanzania, exceptions to this distribution have been reported recently, consisting on fragmentary materials from Upper Jurassic strata of China, Germany, and Portugal. Here, we propose a new Late Jurassic carcharodontosaurian taxon, Lusovenator santosi, gen. et sp. nov. based on the reevaluation of previously described specimens from the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal. The performed phylogenetic analysis recovered Lusovenator santosi as an early branching carcharodontosaurian allosauroid diagnosed by an exclusive combination of characters, including three autapomorphic features: (1) large recesses in neural arch of anterior dorsal vertebrae; (2) welldeveloped and continuous longitudinal laminae extending from the tip of the prezygapophyses to the distal end of the postzygapophyses in mid-caudal vertebrae; and (3) supraacetabular crest of ilium forming a prominent ventrolaterally projecting shelf. Lusovenator santosi is the oldest carcharodontosaurian allosauroid yet discovered from Laurasia and supports unequivocally the hypothesis of a pre-Cretaceous scenario for the radiation of the clade. The identification of this taxon highlights the high diversity of medium-to large-bodied theropods in the later part of the Late Jurassic of the Iberian Peninsula. Carcharodontosauria is not yet known in correlative levels of the North American Morrison Formation, and the existence of contacts after the late Tithonian between these landmasses could explain the distribution of this clade and other dinosaur groups present in the Iberian Jurassic and in the North American Lower Cretaceous.

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Analysis of diversity, stratigraphic and geographical distribution of isolated theropod teeth from the Upper Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal

Cited by 15 publications

References 66 publications

The largest European theropod dinosaurs: remains of a gigantic megalosaurid and giant theropod tracks from the Kimmeridgian of Asturias, Spain

The largest European theropod dinosaurs: remains of a gigantic megalosaurid and giant theropod tracks from the Kimmeridgian of Asturias, Spain

The distribution of dental features in non-avian theropod dinosaurs: Taxonomic potential, degree of homoplasy, and major evolutionary trends

A new carcharodontosaurian theropod from the Lusitanian Basin: evidence of allosauroid sympatry in the European Late Jurassic

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