''Taurovenator'' is a medium-sized
carcharodontosaurid
Carcharodontosauridae (carcharodontosaurids; from the Greek καρχαροδοντόσαυρος, ''carcharodontósauros'': "shark-toothed lizards") is a group of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. In 1931, Ernst Stromer named Carcharodontosauridae ...
theropod
Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally c ...
from the late
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Discovered by Matias Motta in 2005 and formally described in 2016, it is represented by an isolated right
postorbital
The ''postorbital'' is one of the bones in vertebrate skulls which forms a portion of the dermal skull roof and, sometimes, a ring about the orbit. Generally, it is located behind the postfrontal and posteriorly to the orbital fenestra. In some ...
.
Etymology
The ''tauro~'' prefix in the generic name ''Taurovenator'' comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''taurus'', meaning "bull", and ''venator'' meaning "hunter". The
specific name honors Enzo Violante, the owner of the Violante farm where the animal was discovered.
Discovery
The remains of ''Taurovenator'' were discovered in a layer of the
Huincul Formation
The Huincul Formation is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous ( Early Cenomanian to Late Turonian) age of the Neuquén Basin that outcrops in the Mendoza, Río Negro and Neuquén Provinces of northern Patagonia, Argentina. on the Violante Farm, southeast of the
Ezequiel Ramos-Mexía Lake,
Río Negro Province
Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean.
Its capi ...
, Argentina, by Matías Motta in 2005. ''Taurovenator'' was found alongside the
megaraptora
Megaraptora is a clade of carnivorous Tetanurae, tetanuran theropod dinosaurs with controversial relations to other theropods. Its Derived (phylogenetics), derived members, the Megaraptoridae are noted for their elongated hand claws and proporti ...
n ''
Aoniraptor
''Aoniraptor'' is a megaraptoran theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina (Huincul Formation).
Discovery and naming
The holotype, MPCA-Pv 804/1 to 804/25, which consists of the last sacral vertebra, six proximal caudal vertebrae, four mid ...
'' and indeterminate remains of other
Carcharodontosauridae
Carcharodontosauridae (carcharodontosaurids; from the Greek καρχαροδοντόσαυρος, ''carcharodontósauros'': "shark-toothed lizards") is a group of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. In 1931, Ernst Stromer named Carcharodontosauridae ...
, as well as
abelisauroids and
Paraves
Paraves are a widespread group of theropod dinosaurs that originated in the Middle Jurassic period. In addition to the extinct dromaeosaurids, troodontids, anchiornithids, and possibly the scansoriopterygids, the group also contains the avial ...
. This diverse assemblage of theropods was part of the Huincul Formation in Neuquén Province. They shared this environment with ''
Mapusaurus
''Mapusaurus'' () was a giant carcharodontosaurid carnosaurian dinosaur from the early Late Cretaceous (early Turonian stage), approximately 93.9 to 89.6 million years ago, of what is now Argentina.
Discovery
''Mapusaurus'' was excavated b ...
'', ''
Argentinosaurus
''Argentinosaurus'' is a genus of giant sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Argentina. Although it is only known from fragmentary remains, ''Argentinosaurus'' is one of the largest known land animal ...
'', ''
Skorpiovenator
''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, describe ...
'' and ''
Ilokelesia''.
It has been suggested that ''Taurovenator'' is synonymous with ''Mapusaurus''.
[Coria, R.A., Currie, P.J., Ortega, F., & Baiano, M.A. (2019). An Early Cretaceous, medium-sized carcharodontosaurid theropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Mulichinco Formation (upper Valanginian), Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Research (in press). .]
See also
*
2016 in paleontology
Flora Plants
Fungi
Cnidarians
Research
* '' Yunnanoascus haikouensis'', previously thought to be a member of Ctenophora, is reinterpreted as a crown-group medusozoan by Han ''et al.'' (2016).
* A study on the fossil corals from the Late Tr ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q24716965
Carcharodontosaurids
Cenomanian life
Turonian life
Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of South America
Cretaceous Argentina
Fossils of Argentina
Huincul Formation
Fossil taxa described in 2016