Scorpiovenator
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''Skorpiovenator'' ("scorpion hunter") is a
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of abelisaurid theropod
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
from the
Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...
(
Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
to
Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by t ...
) Huincul Formation 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 ...
. It is one of the most complete and informative abelisaurids yet known, described from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton.


Description

The preserved length of the excavated ''Skorpiovenator'' skeleton from the
premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammal has b ...
to the 12th caudal vertebra is . It was estimated to have grown up to in length. In 2010, Gregory S. Paul gave larger estimations of and .Paul, G.S. (2010) ''The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs'', Princeton University Press p. 81 In 2016, a similar size to the original estimate at has been estimated. It had short, stubby, near-useless arms, but strong legs with powerful thighs and sturdy shins over which its large body was balanced.


Skull

''Skorpiovenators skull was short, stout and covered in the ridges, furrows, tubercles and bumpy nodules that are scattered over the heads of most abelisaurid theropods. It is craniocaudally short, similar to '' Carnotaurus'', and is shorter and deeper than the skulls of ''
Abelisaurus ''Abelisaurus'' (; "Abel's lizard") is a genus of predatory abelisaurid theropod dinosaur alive during the Late Cretaceous Period (Campanian) of what is now South America. It was a bipedal carnivore that probably reached about in length, althou ...
'' and '' Majungasaurus''. Notably, the maxilla and lacrimal of ''Skorpiovenator'' are wider than in the corresponding bones of the remaining abelisaurids. ''Skorpiovenator'' had 19 maxillary teeth, which is more than any other known abelisaurid. The shape of the crowns of the teeth is similar to other abelisaurids, and exhibit enamel wrinkles and marginal serrations.


Discovery and naming

The type specimen was described and named by Canale, Scanferla, Agnolin, and Novas in 2009 (though the paper was released as an advanced publication online in 2008). The name ''Skorpiovenator bustingorryi'' is derived from the Greek and Latin for "scorpion hunter," due to the abundant scorpions present at the dig site, and the specific name honors Manuel Bustingorry, who owned the farm where the specimen was found. The describers have defined a new name
Brachyrostra Carnotaurinae is a subfamily of the theropod dinosaur family Abelisauridae. It includes the dinosaurs ''Aucasaurus'' (from Argentina), ''Carnotaurus'' (from Argentina). The group was first proposed by American paleontologist Paul Sereno in 1998 ...
for a
clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
, to which ''Skorpiovenator'' belonged. The
type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
, ''Skorpiovenator bustingorryi'', is known from a single, nearly complete skeleton (MMCH-PV 48K) missing only sections of the tail and the majority of the forelimbs. The specimen was recovered from the lower part of the Huincul Formation in Patagonia, dating to the late
Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
stage, about 95 million years ago. It would have lived alongside other carnivorous dinosaurs such as the carcharodontosaurid '' Mapusaurus'' and another abelisaurid, ''
Ilokelesia ''Ilokelesia'' is an extinct genus of abelisaurid theropod,Coria, R.A.; Salgado, L. & Calvo, J.O. (1991) "Primeros restos de dinosaurios Theropoda del Miembro Huincul, Formación Río Limay (Cretácico Tardío Presenoniano), Neuquén, Argentina." ...
''. The remains are deposited in the Ernesto Bachmann Paleontological Museum of Villa El Chocón, Patagonia,
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 ...
.


Classification

In 2008, Canale ''et al.'' published a phylogenetic analysis focusing on the South American carnotaurines. In their results, they found that all South American forms (including ''Skorpiovenator'') grouped together as a sub-clade of Carnotaurinae, which they named Brachyrostra, meaning "short snouts". They defined the
clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
Brachyrostra as "all the abelisaurids more closely related to ''Carnotaurus sastrei'' than to ''Majungasaurus crenatissimus''."Canale, J.I., Scanferla, C.A., Agnolin, F., and Novas, F.E. (2008). "New carnivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of NW Patagonia and the evolution of abelisaurid theropods." ''Naturwissenschaften''. .


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

{{Portal bar, Dinosaurs, Cretaceous Brachyrostrans Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of South America Cenomanian life Cretaceous Argentina Fossils of Argentina Huincul Formation Fossil taxa described in 2009 Taxa named by Fernando Novas