An Early Cretaceous theropod dinosaur from Brazil sheds light on the cranial evolution of the Abelisauridae

Autor(es)

Zaher, Hussam ^{[1, 2]} ; Pol, Diego ^[3] ; Navarro, Bruno A. ^{[1, 4]} ; Delcourt, Rafael ^{[1, 5, 6]} ; Carvalho, Alberto B. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Museu Zool, Av Nazare 481, BR-04263000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Sorbonne Univ, Ctr Rech Paleobiodiversite & Paleoenvironm, Dept Origines & Evolut, Museum Natl Hist Nat, CR2P, CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, Case Postale 38, 57 Rue Cuvier, F-75231 Paris 05 - France

^[3] Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Museo Paleontol Egidio Feruglio, Av Fontana 140, RA-9100 Trelew, Chubut - Argentina

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Programa Posgrad Zool, Rua Matao 321, Travessa 14, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Dept Geol & Paleontol, Museu Nacl, BR-20940040 Rio De Janeiro, RJ - Brazil

^[6] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Geociencias, Rua Carlos Gomes 250, BR-13083855 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: COMPTES RENDUS PALEVOL; v. 19, n. 6, p. 101-115, OCT 12 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Abelisaurid theropods dominated the predator role across Gondwana during the Late Cretaceous. They are characterized by highly reduced forelimbs and one of the most specialized cranial morphologies among carnivorous dinosaurs, exemplified by a broad skull, short rostrum, high occipital region, and highly kinetic intramandibular joint, suggestive of a specialized feeding strategy. Late Cretaceous abelisaurids are known from some remarkably complete taxa with well-preserved skulls. However, little is known about the pattern of character transformation that led to their highly modified condition because there are no well-preserved abelisaurids before the Late Cretaceous. Here we report a basal abelisaurid from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil that preserves a complete skull and reveals an early stage in the cranial evolution of the group. It lacks the specialized temporal and mandibular features characteristic of derived abelisaurids, including the kinetic intramandibular joint and knob-like dorsal projection of the parietals. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 11/50206-9 - Origem e evolução das serpentes e a sua diversificação na região neotropical: uma abordagem multidisciplinar
• Beneficiário: Hussam El Dine Zaher
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 14/02805-9 - Anatomia e relações filogenéticas de um novo dinossauro theropodo do Cretáceo Inferior do Brasil e diversificação dos dinossauros abelisaurídeos durante o Cretáceo Inferior da Gondwana
• Beneficiário: Hussam El Dine Zaher
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Pesquisador Visitante - Internacional
• Processo FAPESP: 02/13602-4 - Evolução da fauna de répteis no sudeste brasileiro do Cretáceo superior ao recente: paleontologia, filogenia e biogeografia
• Beneficiário: Hussam El Dine Zaher
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Temático