| Australovenator Fossil range: Middle Cretaceous (Late Albian) | |
|---|---|
 Silhouette reconstruction showing which bones were recovered. | |
| Scientific classification
| |
|
Class |
|
|
Superorder |
|
|
Order |
|
|
Suborder |
|
|
Infraorder |
|
|
Genus |
Australovenator |
|
| |
Australovenator is an extinct genus of derived theropod dinosaur from the Late Albian of the Cretaceous of Australia.[1] It was described in the online journal PLoS ONE in 2009.
The species is named in 2009 by the Australian palaeontologist and museum curator Scott Hocknull. The generic name means "southern hunter" in Latin, a reference to where Australia and the fact that it is a theropod. The specific epithet refers to the fossil formation it was discovered in, the Winton Formation. The species was informally named "Banjo" by Banjo Paterson, author of the Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda.
Description and history[]
Australovenator is based on AODL 604, a partial skeleton including a left dentary, teeth, partial forelimbs and hindlimbs, a partial right ilium, ribs, and gastralia. Australovenator was described in 2009 by Dr. Scott Hocknull and colleagues. The type species is A. wintonensis, in reference to nearby Winton. A phylogenetic analysis found Australovenator to be an allosauroid carnosaurian, with similarities to Fukuiraptor and carcharodontosaurids. The ankles of Australovenator and Fukuiraptor are similar to the Australian talus bone known as Allosaurus sp.[2]
Although the holotype is fragmentary, it represents the most complete theropod from Austrlia to date. It appears to be similar in morphology to Allosaurus and Fukuiraptor, as well as certain features on the charcharodontosaurid Neovenator. According to a cladistic analysis, Australovenator a relatively derived member of the Allosauroidea.
Classification[]
A phylogenetic analysis found Australovenator to be an allosauroid carnosaurian, with similarities to Fukuiraptor and carcharodontosaurids. In the initial analysis, it was shown to be the sister taxon of the Carcharodontosauridae.[3] More detailed studies found that it formed a clade with several other carcharodontosaurid-like allosaurs, the Neovenatoridae.[4] Recent phylogenetic analysis suggests Australovenator is a tyrannosauroid, like with all other megaraptorans.[5] A phylogenetic analysis in 2016 focusing on the new neovenatorid Gualicho found that Australovenator and other megaraptorids were either allosauroids or basal coelurosaurs as opposed to being tyrannosauroids.[6]
The ankles of Australovenator and Fukuiraptor are similar to the Australian talus bone known as NMVP 150070 that had previously been identified as belonging to Allosaurus sp., and this bone likely represents Australovenator or a close relative of it.[3][7] Alternatively, this bone could belong to an abelisaur.[8]
Paleobiology[]
Australovenator was a medium-sized allosauroid.[2] According to Dr. Hocknull, it was 2 meters (6.6 ft) tall at the hip and 6 meters (20 ft) long. Because it was a lightweight predator, he coined it as the "cheetah of its time".[9]
AODL 604 was found about 60 kilometers (37 mi) northwest of Winton, near Elderslie Station. It was recovered from the lower part of the Winton Formation, dated to the latest Albian. AODL 604 was found in a clay layer between sandstone layers, interpreted as an oxbow lake deposit. Also found at the site were the type specimen of the sauropod Diamantinasaurus, bivalves, fish, turtles, crocodilians, and plant fossils. The Winton Formation had a faunal assemblage including bivalves, gastropods, insects, the lungfish Metaceratodus, turtles, the crocodilian Isisfordia, pterosaurs, and several types of dinosaurs, such as the sauropods Diamantinasaurus and Wintonotitan, and unnamed ankylosaurians and hypsilophodonts. Plants known from the formation include ferns, ginkgoes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.[2] Like other carnosaurians, Australovenator would have been a bipedal carnivore.[10]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Hocknull SA, White MA, Tischler TR, Cook AG, Calleja ND, et al. 2009. New Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) Dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia. PLoS ONE 4(7): e6190. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006190
- ^ a b c Hocknull, Scott A.; White, Matt A.; Tischler, Travis R.; Cook, Alex G.; Calleja, Naomi D.; Sloan, Trish; and Elliott, David A. (2009). "New mid-Cretaceous (latest Albian) dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia". PLoS ONE 4 (7). doi:.
- ^ a b Hocknull, Scott A.; White, Matt A.; Tischler, Travis R.; Cook, Alex G.; Calleja, Naomi D.; Sloan, Trish; Elliott, David A. (2009). Sereno, Paul. ed. "New Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) Dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia". PLOS ONE 4 (7): e6190. doi:. PMID 19584929. Bibcode: 2009PLoSO...4.6190H.
- ^ Benson, R.B.J.; Carrano, M.T; Brusatte, S.L. (2010). "A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic". Naturwissenschaften 97 (1): 71–78. doi:. PMID 19826771. Bibcode: 2010NW.....97...71B.
- ^ Novas, F. E.; Agnolín, F. L.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Canale, J. I.; Porfiri, J. D. (2012). "Megaraptorans as members of an unexpected evolutionary radiation of tyrant-reptiles in Gondwana". Ameghiniana 49 (Suppl): R33. http://www.ameghiniana.org.ar/index.php/ameghiniana/article/view/868/1618.
- ^ Apesteguía, Sebastián; Smith, Nathan D.; Valieri, Rubén Juárez; Makovicky, Peter J. (2016-07-13). "An Unusual New Theropod with a Didactyl Manus from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina". PLOS ONE 11 (7): e0157793. doi:. ISSN 1932-6203. PMID 27410683. Bibcode: 2016PLoSO..1157793A.
- ^ Molnar, Ralph E.; Flannery, Timothy F.; Rich, Thomas H.V. (1981). "An allosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Victoria, Australia". Alcheringa 5 (2): 141–146. doi:.
- ^ Agnolin, F. L.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Pais, D. F.; Salisbury, S. W. (2010). "A reappraisal of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaur faunas from Australia and New Zealand: Evidence for their Gondwanan affinities". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8 (2): 257–300. doi:.
- ^ Scientists discover 3 new Aussie dinosaurs. ABC News. July 3, 2009
- ^ Holtz, Thomas R., Jr.; Molnar, Ralph E.; and Currie, Philip J. (2004). Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.). ed. The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 71–110. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
