Xenotarsosaurus
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| Xenotarsosaurus Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
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Xenotarsosaurus is a little-understood genus of abelisaurid theropod that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Campanian and Maastrichtian). It was described by Martinez, Gimenez, Rodriguez and Bochatey in 1987.
[edit] Etymology
"Xenos", Greek for strange; "tarsos", Greek for tarsus; "sauros", Greek for lizard. "bonapartei", from Bonaparte (not Napoleon Bonaparte, but José Bonaparte, Argentinian paleontologist).
[edit] Classification
The only fossil evidence consists of two vertebrae and leg bones (femur, tibia, fibula and astragalocalcaneum) retrieved from the Bajo Barreal Formation, Chubut, Argentina. These remains show some similarities to Carnotaurus sastrei, implying that Xenotarsosaurus could belong to Abelisauridae. However, it has also been proposed that Xenotarsosaurus is placed as an allosaur. Either way, its remains are too fragmentary to assure a correct placement.
