Furileusauria ("stiff back lizards") is an extinct clade of derived
abelisaurid
dinosaurs only known from
South American fossil remains.
They represent some of the largest members of the Abelisauridae, with an average length of .
The clade is defined as the most inclusive clade containing ''
Carnotaurus sastrei'' but not ''
Ilokelesia aguadagrandensis'', ''
Skorpiovenator bustingorryi
''Skorpiovenator'' ("scorpion hunter") is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Turonian) Huincul Formation of Argentina. It is one of the most complete and informative abelisaurids yet known, described ...
,'' or ''
Majungasaurus crenatissimus''.
Classification
Distinguishing traits
Furileusauria is distinguished by several traits exclusive to the members of this clade. These are:
* the presence of a tip in the middle area of the posterior surface of the ventral process of the
postorbital
* the presence of a knob followed by a deep notch in the postorbital-
squamosal contact
* the absence of
fenestra between the
frontal, postorbital and
lacrimal
* an anterior projection of the
distal
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
end of the cervical
epiphophyses
* the posterior margin of the
postzygapophyses at level with the intervertebral articulation in
dorsal vertebrae
* a crescent-shaped morphology of the distal tip of the transverse processes in anterior and middle caudal vertebrae
* the transverse processes of anterior
caudal vertebrae
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
distally expanded and only anteriorly projected
* a convex external margin of the transverse processes in anterior caudal vertebrae
*
cnemial crest of the
tibia with a downturned process
Phylogeny
In the description of the
abelisaurid ''
Llukalkan
''Llukalkan'' (Mapuche for "one who causes fear") is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation of Argentina. The type species is ''Llukalkan aliocranianus''.
Discovery and naming
The holotype ...
'', the authors performed a phylogenetic analysis to test the affinities of the new taxon. The simplified strict consensus tree of the analysis is shown below.
See also
*
Timeline of ceratosaur research
This timeline of ceratosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ceratosaurs, a group of relatively primitive, often horned, predatory theropod dinosaurs that became the apex predators of ...
References
Abelisaurs
Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of South America
{{theropod-stub