Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Mar;96(3):409-14.
doi: 10.1007/s00114-008-0487-4. Epub 2008 Dec 5.

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

Juan I Canale  1 , Carlos A Scanferla, Federico L Agnolin, Fernando E Novas
Affiliations

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

Juan I Canale et al. Naturwissenschaften. 2009 Mar.

Abstract

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Proc Biol Sci. 2004 Jul 7;271(1546):1325-30 - PubMed
    1. Naturwissenschaften. 2005 May;92(5):226-30 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1996 May 17;272(5264):986-91 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1998 May 15;280(5366):1048-51 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources