Quilmesaurus
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Quilmesaurus curriei Coria, 2001 |
Quilmesaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Patagonian Upper Cretaceous (Campanian stage), a time when South American theropod assemblages were dominated by abelisaurids and carcharodontosaurs. However, the morphology of Quilmesaurus suggests it may have been a tetanuran. Though only portions of the right leg have been recovered, this animal is estimated to have measured 5-6 meters (16-20 feet) in length. The holotype (MPCA-PV-100; Museo Provincial Carlos Ameghino) consists of the distal half of the right femur and a complete right tibia collected from the Allen Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian), Malarge Group, Neuquén Basin, at Salitral Ojo de Aqua, 40 kilometers south of Roca City, Río Negro Province, northern Argentina. The specimen came from the fluvial sandstones at the bottom of the Allen Formation and was collected in the late 1980s by a field crew from the Universidad Nacional Tucumán.
Quilmesaurus curriei is distinguished by a highly specialized knee joint. The femur possess a strong, well-developed mediodistal crest, and the tibia has a hooked cnemial crest. There is evidently no fusion of the proximal tarsals, and the lateral maleous projects distally more than the internal maleous, presenting an asymmetrical profile. The presence of a notch in the distal articular surface of the tibia was cited by Coria (2001) as evidence of a possible relationship with basal tetanurans. This taxon is notable as the youngest record for a non-avian theropod from Patagonia.
The genus name derives from the Quilme, a Native American people, and the species is named in honor of Dr. Phillip J. Currie, a Canadian theropod specialist. Other theropod material has been recovered from within these same strata and has also provisionally been referred to the Tetanurae (Coria et Salgado, 2005). Other dinosaur remains recovered from the Allen Formation include titanosaurs (Aeolosaurus), a lambeosaurine hadrosaur, a nodosaurid, and dinosaur eggs.
[edit] References
- Coria, R. A. 2001. A new theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. in Tanke, D. H. et Carpenter, K. (eds). 2001. Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, Indiana University Press: 3-9.
- Coria, R. A. et. Salgado, L. 2005. Last Patagonian theropods. in Carpenter, K. 2005. The Carnivorous Dinosaurs, Indiana University Press: 153-160.
