A fossil skeleton discovered in Argentine Patagonia has identified a new genus and species of abelisaurid furiosaur that lived during the Cretaceous Period.
Korken Inakayari It lived in what is now Argentina about 69 million years ago (during the Maastrichtian period of the Late Cretaceous period).
This species Fuuriusauriaderived from the group Abelisaurid Dinosaurs It is known in South America.
“The Abelisauridae (family Abelisauridae) were the most abundant theropod dinosaurs during the Late Cretaceous and were present throughout Gondwana except for Antarctica and Australia, where they have never been seen,” paleontologist Dr Diego Pol from the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences and CONICET and his colleagues said.
“They are known primarily from South America, where the fossil record of this group is richest, but they have also been found in India, North Africa and Madagascar.”
“The discovery of an incomplete abelisaurid specimen in Europe adds to the evidence supporting a biogeographical connection between southern Europe and Gondwana.”
“The frilleusaurian abelisaurids are a diverse clade that encompasses most of the South American abelisaurids known from the Late Cretaceous.”
Korken Inakayari Several skulls, nearly complete hind limbs, and other skeletal elements have been found.
The fossils were found in the La Colonia Formation in the Cerro Bayo Norte area, east of the Sierra de la Colonia in north-central Chubut province in Argentina's Patagonia region.
“The holotype consists of a partial skeleton including the skull, trunk and appendages, and possesses unique features that distinguish it from all known theropods,” the paleontologists said.
“especially, Korken Inakayari Several anatomical features, particularly those of the skull, distinguish them from other animals. Carnotaurus sustraiiIt is the only abelisaurid dinosaur found in the La Colonia Formation.”
The discovery indicates that abelisaurid dinosaurs were more diverse than previously thought.
“We analysed the evolutionary relationships between abelisaurids and their close relatives. Noasauridae “It's a (noasauridae),” said Dr Fernando Novas, a paleontologist at the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences and CONICET.
“We found periods when these groups changed rapidly and periods when their evolution remained more or less halted.”
Team paper Published in the journal Systematics.
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Diego Pol othersA new abelisaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia and the rate of ceratopsian evolution. SystematicsPublished online May 21, 2024, doi: 10.1111/cla.12583
Source: www.sci.news
