Search

Abstract A new ornithopod dinosaur, the medium-sized Sektensaurus sanjuanboscoi gen. et sp nov. from the Coniacian–Maastricthian strata of the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation, Golfo San Jorge Basin, Patagonia, is here described. The specimen consists of disarticulated postcranial bones belonging to a single individual. It is diagnosed by an unique association of five autapomorphies on the dorsal and sacral vertebrae and the humerus. A cladistics analysis indicates that Sektensaurus was an iguanodontian ornithopod which inhabited Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous. Likewise, Sektensaurus is the first non-hadrosaurid, probably elasmarian, ornithopod recorded from the uppermost Cretaceous of central Patagonia. In a broad context, this discovery increases the anatomical knowledge of ornithopods and adds new data on the composition of dinosaur faunas that lived in Patagonia close to the Antarctica, at the end of the Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continental Cretaceous deposits exposed in central Patagonia, Argentina, preserve a rich and important record of titanosaurian evolution that spans the entire Upper Cretaceous. Recently, a new lithostragraphic unit, the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation (Coniacian – Maastrichtian), was located in the Golfo San Jorge Basin. Here, we describe new titanosaurian sauropod material from that formation (UNPSJB-Pv 1051). The material consists of a partially articulated left hind limb and disarticulated but associated skeletal elements. They are confidently referred to Titanosauria, and within that clade, to Lithostrotia, probably occupying a derived position. We interpret the bone concentration as an assemblage of hydraulic origin deposited in a fluvial channel. This new material begins the incipient fossil record of the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation, thereby also increasing the titanosaurian diversity of the latest Cretaceous. Additionally, the new titanosaurian enhances evidence in support of strong faunal similarities among the Allen and Marilia formations, chronological equivalents in the Cretaceous of South America. Furthermore, the Lago Colhué Huapi specimen adds to the Late Cretaceous record of Titanosauria and augments our knowledge of central Patagonian terrestrial vertebrate assemblages during this interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We describe new and redescribe previously discovered sauropod dinosaur material from the Upper Cretaceous (middle Cenomanian–Turonian) Bajo Barreal Formation of south-central Chubut Province, central Patagonia, Argentina. The remains consist of associated and isolated axial skeletal elements recovered from three separate localities, and are herein assigned to the morphologically aberrant Rebbachisauridae clade. Several of the fossils exhibit osteological characters that were previously undocumented in rebbachisaurids, enhancing our understanding of the morphological diversity of this enigmatic sauropod group. In particular, the Bajo Barreal material demonstrates the occurrence within Rebbachisauridae of bifurcate neural spines in cervical vertebrae and well-developed, presumably pneumatic fossae in caudal vertebrae; among Diplodocoidea, these distinctive morphologies had previously been recognized only in flagellicaudatans. Furthermore, the Bajo Barreal fossils constitute the southernmost known occurrences of Diplodocoidea, adding to the globally sparse Late Cretaceous record of these sauropods and augmenting our knowledge of central Patagonian terrestrial vertebrate assemblages during this interval. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Xenotarsosaurus bonapartei was the third abelisaurid theropod dinosaur to be named from Argentina. The holotype comprises two partial anterior dorsal vertebrae and a nearly complete right hind limb from the Upper Cretaceous (lower Cenomanian–upper Turonian) Bajo Barreal Formation, central Patagonia, Argentina. The materials display morphological features that undoubtedly position Xenotarsosaurus within Abelisauroidea. Moreover, detailed comparisons with members of that theropod group confirm the close relationship of this taxon to abelisaurids. Here we provide an emended diagnosis of Xenotarsosaurus bonapartei that includes five newly recognized autapomorphies: (1) anterior dorsal vertebrae with large, strongly dorsoventrally developed parapophyses; (2) anterior dorsal vertebrae with well-developed centroprezygapophyseal fossae that are taller dorsoventrally than wide mediolaterally; (3) fibular condyle of femur triangular in shape and projecting posteriorly; (4) well-marked groove on anterolateral corner of proximal fibula; and (5) iliofibularis tubercle of fibula distally interrupted by hook-like concavity. To determine its systematic position within Abelisauroidea, we incorporated Xenotarsosaurus into a phylogenetic analysis, recovering this theropod as a non-carnotaurine abelisaurid more derived than Eoabelisaurus mefi. Xenotarsosaurus displays several plesiomorphic traits when compared with penecontemporaneous abelisaurids from the Neuquén Group. Similarly, other non-avian dinosaur taxa from the Bajo Barreal Formation are frequently postulated as more phylogenetically basal than coeval forms from northern Patagonia. This scenario suggests the potential existence of provincialism in early Late Cretaceous continental vertebrate faunas of southern South America. The present study increases knowledge of abelisaurid systematics, evolution, and paleobiogeography and augments our understanding of the Upper Cretaceous dinosaur assemblage of central Patagonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present an updated revision of fossil vertebrates from the Chubut Group, Golfo San Jorge Basin, while also describing some new remains. Extensive exposures of both Lower and Upper Cretaceous sedimentary sequences are present in central Patagonia. These outcrops have, over the past several decades, yielded a varied vertebrate fauna, including fishes, turtles, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs, currently herein characterized and described. Although vertebrate diversity in the Chubut Group in central Patagonia is remarkable, the most abundant vertebrates recovered are dinosaurs. The Matasiete Formation (Hauterivian?–Albian) is markedly less prolific in terms of fossils discoveries than either the Bajo Barreal Formation (Cenomanian–early Turonian) or the recently recognized Lago Colhué Huapi Formation (Coniacian–Maastrichtian). The Bajo Barreal fauna is, at a high level, typical of coeval Gondwanan faunas. However, interestingly, several taxa occupy a basal position within their respective groups. The Lago Colhué Huapi Formation has produced a more derived vertebrate fauna, again similar to those from other Gondwanan regions. Finally, in a broad context, the new materials described augment our understanding of Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrate assemblage of central Patagonia and add to the generally meager record of vertebrate in the Cretaceous of the Southern Hemisphere. • South-central Patagonia preserves a rich and important vertebrate fossil record. • New materials described augment our understanding of Cretaceous vertebrate. • The information mentioned constitutes an important source for future comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]