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New theropod fauna from the Upper Cretaceous (Huincul Formation) of Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina
Article
Authorship:
MOTTA, MATIAS JAVIER ; Aranciaga Rolando, Alexis Mauro ; ROZADILLA, SEBASTIAN ; AGNOLIN, FEDERICO ; CHIMENTO, NICOLÁS ROBERTO ; BRISSÓN EGLI, FEDERICO ; NOVAS, FERNANDO EMILIODate:
2016Publishing House and Editing Place:
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and ScienceMagazine:
Bulletin of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, vol. 71 (pp. 231-253) - ISSN 1524-4156New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
ISSN:
1524-4156Summary
The present contribution describes theropod remains coming from the Huincul Formation (Neuquén Group; Cenomanian-Turonian; Upper Cretaceous) at a single locality located in northwestern Río Negro province, Patagonia, Argentina. This theropod association is composed of abelisauroids, two different-sized carcharodontosaurid allosauroids, a coelurosaur of uncertain relationships, a megaraptoran tyrannosauroid, and a possible unenlagiid paravian. Two new theropod genera and species are here described. The new carcharodontosaurid is based on an isolated postorbital bone bearing a unique prominence above the orbital brow. The new megaraptoran of uncertain affinities is described on the basis of a partially articulated tail and sacral vertebra. A new taxon is characterized by having notably elongate and highly pneumatic sacral and caudal vertebrae. It shows a large number of similarities with the African taxa Deltadromeus and Baharisaurus. These genera probably constitute a still poorly known clade of megaraptoran tyrannosauroids different from the Megaraptoridae. These findings support that Patagonia is a key place for understanding theropod evolution in Gondwana.Key Words
MegaraptoraCarcharodontosauridaeUnenlagiidaeCoelurosauria