Tumgik
#Ekrixinatosaurus
impulseimpact · 5 months
Text
day 13 carnotaurus
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
6 notes · View notes
renzybrooo · 21 days
Text
Tumblr media
Ekrixinatosaurus novasi by Gabriel Ugueto
3 notes · View notes
makairodonx · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media
Two different theropods at extreme ends of the size scale drinking together at a pond 97 million years ago in what is now the Candeleros Formation of Patagonia, Argentina: the small, 1.5-meter-long unelagine dromaeosaur Buitreraptor gonzalezorum, which was a fast, agile predator of arthropods, lizards and small mammals, and the enormous 13-meter-long carcharodontosaurid allosauroid Giganotosaurus carolini, a heavily-built ambush hunter which was big enough to prey upon large sauropods such as Andesaurus and Limaysaurus and intimidate its 7 to 8-meter-long abelisaur rival Ekrixinatosaurus. Much like Tyrannosaurus, its future ecological counterpart from North America, Giganotosaurus could also potentially use the thick bosses that adorned its massive head, which completely dwarfed Buitreraptor’s body size, to deliver powerful striking blows to knock out its quarry or to engage each other in intraspecific head or flank-butting contests over territory or mates.
55 notes · View notes
a-dinosaur-a-day · 2 years
Text
Jakapil vs Spicomellus
Jakapil kaniukura
Tumblr media
Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: Deep Jawed Shield Bearer 
Time: 99 to 97 million years ago (Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous) 
Location: Candeleros Formation, Neuquen and Mendoza, Argentina 
Jakapil is to nonavian dinosaurs as Annakacygna is to birds. This may seem extreme - what could possibly top the cup zoomy swan of filter feeding death - but Jakapil is a weird little dude. It was a bipedal armored dinosaur, similar to the Early Jurassic basal form Scutellosaurus - except, you’ll note, it lived a hundred million years later. At about 1.5 meters long, it was a small dinosaur, again similar to its relative from so long ago. It had rows of osteoderms on its body, and a predentary - unlike other early thyreophorans. It may have diverged from the main thyreophoran group in the Sinemurian, representing a lost lineage of bipedal armored forms that persisted (presumably in South America). However, its classification is a major debate among researchers - many features of the jaw are more similar to Ceratopsians than to Thyreophorans, indicating it may be an armored variant of an early Ceratopsian (which, would be, to say the least, wild) or a completely new clade of Ornithischian altogether! The large amount of wear on its teeth indicates it chewed its food, rather than sheering or chopping it - something only found in a few Ornithischian groups. It lived in a large desert environment, peppered with oases, and filled with a variety of other animals - fish, frogs, tuatara, snakes, turtles, mammals, and other dinosaurs like Andesaurus, Ekrixinatosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Buitreraptor, Alnashetri, and Bicentenaria. 
Spicomellus afer
Tumblr media
Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: African Collar of Spikes 
Time: 168 to 164 million years ago (Bathonian to Callovian stages of the Middle Jurassic) 
Location: Third Subunit, El Mers Group, Fès-Meknès, Morocco 
Spicomellus is the oldest known Ankylosaur, and also the first described Ankylosaur from North Africa! But that isn’t even the weirdest thing about it! Spicomellus had dermal spikes, fused to the bone, forming a collar (for which it was named) around its neck. Given that the spike were fused to the underlying bone - something no other ankylosaur does - it is probable that it wouldn’t have had a particularly flexible neck, or an easy time moving in general if the pattern continued throughout the body. It probably would have been around 3 meter long at the most, similar in size to other ankylosaurs from the Middle Jurassic. Coming from the El Mers Group, i tlived alongside Cetiosaurus, the stegosaur Adratiklit, megalosaurs, and teleosaurids. Spicomellus adds to a growing diversity of Jurassic Ankylosaurs, showing how Ankylosaurs and Stegosaurs lived alongside each other for a large period of time (the Middle and Late Jurassic epochs) and that the extinction of the Stegosaurs must have been due to a different, unrelated factor.
183 notes · View notes
wdtoys · 3 months
Video
youtube
HUGE SHOPPING SPREE JURASSIC WORLD CHAOS THEORY DINOSAUR TOYS FROM TARGET!! CAMP CRETACEOUS #SHORTS #youtubeshorts Toys include Epic Evolution Chaos Theory All -out attack Tyrannosaurus Rex, Chaos Theory Battle Roarin Becklespinax, Chaos Theory Super Colossal Allosaurus, Chaos Theory Darius Adventure Pack, Chaos Theory Wild Roar Majungasaurus Major, Chaos Theory Wild Roar Parasaurolophus, Chaos Theory Wild Roar Pachyrhinosaurus, Hammond Collection Giganotosaurus, & Hammond Collection Carnotaurus.   HUGE SHOPPING SPREE JURASSIC WORLD DINOSAUR TOYS 2024 #TARGET!!! #unboxed soon. Huge Shopping Spree Of ALL NEW Jurassic World Epic Evolution #DinosaurToys February 2024 #walmart  #shorts #youtubeshorts #JurassicWorldExtinction Huge shopping Spree of  New JURASSIC World #EpicEvolution #DinosaurToys including Isla Sorna Expedition Pack, Barry Sembene ATV Chase Pack, Mission Mayhem Truck Set, Hammond Collection Dimetrodon, Wild Roar Ekrixinatosaurus, Danger Pack Avaceratops, Epic Evolution Gigantic Trackers Neovenator, Epic Evolution  Ruthless Rampage Allosaurus, Epic Evolution Poposaurus, Epic Evolution Eoraptor, Epic Evolution Stegouros, Epic Evolution Plesiosaurus, & Epic Attack Crash N Attack Ford Explorer, Rugops Primus, Dimetrodon, & Nasutoceratop. HUGE JURASSIC WORLD DINOSAUR TOYS SHOPPING SPREE Walmart  2023 #SpeedUnboxing #jurasssicWorldExtinction #jw3 #jw4 #crazyDinoToys
0 notes
dinoesculturas · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media
Una pareja de #Ekrixinatosaurus derribando un #Andesaurus juvenil trabajando en conjunto. Escala 1:24, masilla epoxi @parsecsarte A pair of Ekrixinatosaurus take down a juvenile Andesaurus working as a team. 1/24 scale, epoxy clay https://www.instagram.com/p/CSYBgCsrw-5/?utm_medium=tumblr
4 notes · View notes
just9art · 5 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The Abelisaurs, successful across South America, Africa, India, Madagascar and even some of Europe, this goofy but impressive branch of theropods is by far my favorite group of animals and i just had to work on a lineup of them. from left to right they are:  pycnonemosaurus, carnotaurus, abelisaurus, ekrixinatosaurus, aucasaurus, skorpiovenator, viavenator, quilmesaurus, thanos, ilokelesia, majungasaurus, indosaurus, rajasaurus, rahiolisaurus, arcovenator, genusaurus, chenanisaurus, indosuchus, kryptops, eoabelisaurus, xenotarsosaurus, rugops and tarascosaurus.
266 notes · View notes
iknowdino · 5 years
Text
Episode 273: The "Reaper of death" Thanatotheristes
I Know Dino #Podcast Episode 273: The new tyrannosaur Thanatotheristes, the "Reaper of death." Plus some brand new dinosaur fossils from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.
Episode 273 is all about Ekrixinatosaurus, the “explosion born” abelisaurid from Argentina.
Big thanks to all our patrons! Your support means so much to us and keeps us going! If you’re a dinosaur enthusiast, join our growing community on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.
You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on Apple Podcasts at: https://itunes.apple.com/…
View On WordPress
2 notes · View notes
kingoftieland · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I just had to complete my abelisaurid family set with this Ekrixinatosaurus novasi 1/35 scale museum class replica from Rebor! Nicknamed “Epitaph,” this stunning model depicts a Late Cretaceous dinosaur who was a close relative of the famous horned Carnotaurus rex of South America.
Bonus Fact: The name Ekrixinatosaurus means “Explosion-Born Lizard,” and is a reference to the construction-related explosion that accidentally unearthed its remains for the first time in 2004. 💥
44 notes · View notes
taxonomicetymology · 5 years
Text
Explosion-born lizard
Tumblr media
Ekrixinatosaurus
From Greek ekrixi (”explosion”) + Latin nātus (”born”) + Greek sauros (”lizard”).
The genus was discovered due to blasting during construction of a gas pipeline in Argentina. 
image credit: Ilya0068 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
5 notes · View notes
argumate · 7 years
Text
abstractagamid said: Edmontosaurus, Elaphrosaurus, Ekrixinatosaurus.
abstractagamid said: Eoraptor.
Estrosaurus and Estroraptor don’t really have the same ring to them, but okay.
5 notes · View notes
Photo
Tumblr media
Dino-Lesson 100 : Ekrixinatosaurus ! New comic on scribbleonthewall.co.uk !
0 notes
a-dinosaur-a-day · 2 years
Text
Jakapil vs Bashanosaurus
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Factfiles:
Jakapil kaniukura
Tumblr media
Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: Deep Jawed Shield Bearer 
Time: 99 to 97 million years ago (Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous) 
Location: Candeleros Formation, Neuquen and Mendoza, Argentina 
Jakapil is to nonavian dinosaurs as Annakacygna is to birds. This may seem extreme - what could possibly top the cup zoomy swan of filter feeding death - but Jakapil is a weird little dude. It was a bipedal armored dinosaur, similar to the Early Jurassic basal form Scutellosaurus - except, you’ll note, it lived a hundred million years later. At about 1.5 meters long, it was a small dinosaur, again similar to its relative from so long ago. It had rows of osteoderms on its body, and a predentary - unlike other early thyreophorans. It may have diverged from the main thyreophoran group in the Sinemurian, representing a lost lineage of bipedal armored forms that persisted (presumably in South America). However, its classification is a major debate among researchers - many features of the jaw are more similar to Ceratopsians than to Thyreophorans, indicating it may be an armored variant of an early Ceratopsian (which, would be, to say the least, wild) or a completely new clade of Ornithischian altogether! The large amount of wear on its teeth indicates it chewed its food, rather than sheering or chopping it - something only found in a few Ornithischian groups. It lived in a large desert environment, peppered with oases, and filled with a variety of other animals - fish, frogs, tuatara, snakes, turtles, mammals, and other dinosaurs like Andesaurus, Ekrixinatosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Buitreraptor, Alnashetri, and Bicentenaria. 
Bashanosaurus primitivus
Tumblr media
Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: Early bashan Reptile 
Time: 168 million years ago (Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic) 
Location: Lowermost Shaximiao Formation, Yunyang, Chongqing, China
Bashanosaurus is an interesting new stegosaur that is another specimen from the earliest part of the stegosaur family tree, helping to show even more clearly what the first members of this weird group were like. In fact, it had many features similar to both the early thyreophoran Scelidosaurus as well as features similar to the early stegosaur Chungkingosaurus. It grew to about 2.8 meters long, but the known fossils were probably from a subadult, and as such it may have grown larger - though it was still small compared to later stegosaur species. This also indicates that stegosaurs appeared and diversified very, very quickly, reaching very complex forms within twenty million years. It is the oldest known stegosaur as well, dating to just a million years older than the previous record holder. Living in a large floodplain not unlike other Jurassic environments such as the later Morrison, Bashanosaurus shared its home with the early macronarian Yuzhoulong, as well as wide variety of turtles (the more complex environment, famed for mamenchisaurids and weird theropods, would come later). 
DMM Round One Masterpost
122 notes · View notes
a-dinosaur-a-day · 2 years
Text
Round Two: Tlatolophus vs Jakapil
Tlatolophus galorum
Tumblr media
Artwork by Joaquin Eng Ponce, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: Gazra and López’s Word Crest 
Time: 73 million years ago (Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous) 
Location: Cerro del Pueblo Formation, Coahuila, Mexico 
Tlatolophus was a Lambeosaur - so another crested hadrosaur - from Mexico, a place that we don’t talk about the fossils of nearly enough! The most complete Lambeosaur known from Mexico, the skull and large portions of the skeleton are known, including the tail. At about 8 meters long, Tlatolophus had a tall skull and thick tail, and the usual hooved front feet of hadrosaurs. Its crest was long, low, and angled backwards, much like the glyph for “word” in Aztec writings - hence its name! Given the unique shape, it probably made a unique sound, different from other hadrosaurs. Interestingly, it actually seems to have been closely related to Parasaurolophus and its relatives, making it another member of the Parasaurolophini group! As a hadrosaur, it would have been a social animal, with behaviors such as communal nature and communication. The Cerro del Pueblo formation was a coastal ecosystem, filled with a variety of unnamed dinosaurs, but also Coahuilaceratops, Kritosaurus, Latirhinus, Velafrons, Paraxenisaurus (the first potential Deinocheirid from North America), as well as pterosaurs, turtles, fish, and multituberculate mammals. 
Jakapil kaniukura
Tumblr media
Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @zygodactylus
Name Meaning: Deep Jawed Shield Bearer 
Time: 99 to 97 million years ago (Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous) 
Location: Candeleros Formation, Neuquen and Mendoza, Argentina 
Jakapil is to nonavian dinosaurs as Annakacygna is to birds. This may seem extreme - what could possibly top the cup zoomy swan of filter feeding death - but Jakapil is a weird little dude. It was a bipedal armored dinosaur, similar to the Early Jurassic basal form Scutellosaurus - except, you’ll note, it lived a hundred million years later. At about 1.5 meters long, it was a small dinosaur, again similar to its relative from so long ago. It had rows of osteoderms on its body, and a predentary - unlike other early thyreophorans. It may have diverged from the main thyreophoran group in the Sinemurian, representing a lost lineage of bipedal armored forms that persisted (presumably in South America). However, its classification is a major debate among researchers - many features of the jaw are more similar to Ceratopsians than to Thyreophorans, indicating it may be an armored variant of an early Ceratopsian (which, would be, to say the least, wild) or a completely new clade of Ornithischian altogether! The large amount of wear on its teeth indicates it chewed its food, rather than sheering or chopping it - something only found in a few Ornithischian groups. It lived in a large desert environment, peppered with oases, and filled with a variety of other animals - fish, frogs, tuatara, snakes, turtles, mammals, and other dinosaurs like Andesaurus, Ekrixinatosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Buitreraptor, Alnashetri, and Bicentenaria. 
82 notes · View notes
a-dinosaur-a-day · 5 years
Text
Ekrixinatosaurus novasi
Tumblr media
By Ripley Cook
Etymology: Reptile born of an Explosion
First Described By: Calvo et al., 2004
Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Ceratosauria, Neoceratosauria, Abelisauroidea, Abelisauridae, Carnotaurinae, Brachyrostra
Status: Extinct
Time and Place: Between 100 and 97 million years ago, in the Cenomanian of the Late Cretaceous 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Ekrixinatosaurus is known from the Candeleros Formation of Neuquén, Argentina 
Tumblr media
Physical Description: Ekrixinatosaurus is a typical, large Abelisaurid, with a similar body shape to other members of the group - a thick trunk, long flexible tail, robust hindlimbs, barely any forelimbs, a thick neck, and a boxy head. It was covered in scutes and scales all over its body, and probably had no feathers at all. Compared to other Abelisaurids, Ekrixinatosaurus had a very large head and even more robust limbs, allowing it to turn quicker than other theropods of its size. This was important, as it lived in an environment with many different large sauropods. However, its hind limbs were also shorter than relatives, indicating that it couldn’t run particularly fast. Compared to other Abelisaurids, its skull was very short and deep, sort of like the Pug of Abelisaurs; the jaw also curved upward, giving it the weird appearance of being smiling all the time. It was about 7.4 meters long, making it only somewhat smaller than the largest known abelisaurid (Carnotaurus at 7.8 meters long).
Diet: Ekrixinatosaurus would have eaten large herbivores in its environment, especially sauropods; though any medium to large sized animal would have been on the menu.
Behavior: Ekrixinatosaurus would have spent much of its time hunting prey, using its legs to maneuver through the environment to chase its large targets, and corner them to where they can’t escape. As such, Ekrixinatosaurus probably spent the majority of its time in the more arid parts of its environment, rather than the swampy bits. It’s possible that Ekrixinatosaurus would hunt in family groups to take down bigger prey, but there isn’t fossil evidence either way on that score. They probably would have also taken care of their young. 
Tumblr media
By Scott Reid
Ecosystem: Ekrixinatosaurus lived in the Candeleros Formation of South America, which is a fun coincidence, because yesterday’s dinosaur did too! This was a braided river system, with a wide variety of swamps and very rich soil, and extensive sand deposits around the swamp area. Many fish, frogs, tuataras, turtles, snakes, and early mammals lived in this habitat, both in the wet swamp area and the more semi-arid landscape around it. Along with Ekrixinatosaurus, there were many other dinosaurs such as the very large Giganotosaurus which would have probably eaten Ekrixinatosaurus; the small fishing raptor Buitreraptor; a mysterious Coelurosaur Bicentenaria, an Alvarezsaurid Alnashetri, a probable Elasmarian, and many large sauropods for Ekrixinatosaurus to hunt - the Titanosaur Andesaurus and also Diplodocoids such as Limaysaurus, Nopcsaspondylus, and Rayososaurus.
Other: Ekrixinatosaurus was an Abelisaurid, it actually showcases how large-bodied Abelisaurids evolved before the huge Carnosaurs died out mid-way through the late Cretaceous; previously, hypotheses indicated that as the large Carnosaurs went extinct, the Abelisaurids “took their place”; but clearly that story is more complicated than it used to appear.
~ By Meig Dickson
Sources under the Cut 
Bonaparte, J. F., F. E. Novas, R. A. Coria. 1990. Carnotaurus sastrei Bonaparte, the horned, lightly built Carnosaur from the Middle Cretaceous of Patagonia. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 416.
Calvo, J. O., D. Rubilar-Rogers, and K. Moreno. 2004. A new Abelisauridae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from northwest Patagonia. Ameghiniana 41(4):555-563
Grillo, O. N., R. Delcourt. 2016. Allometry and body length of abelisauroid theropods: Pycnonemosaurus nevesi is the new king. Cretaceous Research 69: 71.
Leanza, H.A.; S. Apesteguia; F.E. Novas, and M.S. De la Fuente. 2004. Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages. Cretaceous Research 25. 61–87.
Novas, F. E., F. L. Angolín, M. D. Ezcurra, J. Porfiri, J. I. Canale. 2013. Evolution of the carnivorous dinosaurs during the Cretaceous: The evidence from Patagonia. Cretaceous Research 45: 174.
Sánchez, María Lidia; Susana Heredia, and Jorge O. Calvo. 2006. Paleoambientes sedimentarios del Cretácico Superior de la Formación Plottier (Grupo Neuquén), Departamento Confluencia, Neuquén (Sedimentary paleoenvironments in the Upper Cretaceous Plottier Formation (Neuquen Group), Confluencia, Neuquén). Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 61. 3–18.
Valieri, J., R.D.; Porfiri, J.D.; Calvo, J.O. (2011). "New information on Ekrixinatosaurus novasi Calvo et al. 2004, a giant and massively-constructed Abelisauroid from the "Middle Cretaceous" of Patagonia". In Calvo, González, Riga, Porfiri and Dos Santos (eds.). Paleontología y dinosarios desde América Latina (PDF). pp. 161–169.
Wang, S., J. Stiegler, R. Amiot, X. Wang, G.-H. Du, J. M. Clark, X. Xu. 2017. Extreme Ontogenetic Changes in a Ceratosaurian Theropod. Current Biology 27 (1): 144 - 148.
Wichmann, R. 1929. Los Estratos con Dinosaurios y su techo en el este del Territorio del Neuquén (“The dinosaur-bearing strata and their upper limit in eastern Neuquén Territory”). Dirección General de Geología, Minería e Hidrogeología Publicación 32. 1–9.
336 notes · View notes
a-dinosaur-a-day · 5 years
Text
Buitreraptor gonzalezorum
Tumblr media
By Scott Reid 
Etymology: Vulture Thief
First Described By: Makovicky et al., 2005
Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Dromaeosauridae
Status: Extinct
Time and Place: Between 100 and 97 million years ago, in the Cenomanian of the Late Cretaceous 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Buitreraptor is known from the Candeleros Formation of Neuquén, Argentina 
Tumblr media
Physical Description: Buitreraptor was a small dromaeosaur, and of the kinds adapted extensively for aquatic life. It had a very long, flat snout, with numerous small curved teeth. It had long, thin forearms, and similar legs. It was extremely long in general, except for the fact that it had small fingers and toes. It had a thin ribcage and a long, skinny tail that was stiffened into a straight shape, and it wouldn’t have been very flexible. As a Dromaeosaur, Buitreraptor would have been covered in feathers, which would have been fluffy all over its body. It probably would have had a long tail fan, and it definitely had wings - which most likely fully feathered and with long, bird-like feathers, though that’s up to some debate due to Buitreraptor’s different arm structure.
Buitreraptor is extremely unique in general, with its long thin snout being distinctive amongst other raptors. Its small claws on its wings and feet contrast greatly with the general elongate nature of its head, body, limbs, and tail. In other ways, it is an intermediate between the earliest Paravians - birds and their closest “classical dinosaur” relatives - and more derived dromaeosaurs like Velociraptor. It was about 1.5 meters long. 
Tumblr media
By Conty, CC BY 3.0 
Diet: The diet of Buitreraptor is under some debate, but it seems likely that it was at least partially piscivorous.
Behavior: Buitreraptor would have probably spent much of its days around sources of water, reaching in with its long jaws to catch fish in the water. When fish wasn’t an option, it would have opted for other small animals, such as tiny lizards and mammals. It probably wouldn’t have engaged largely in the hunting of large prey, given the lack of serrations on its teeth; instead, Buitreraptor would have just jutted forward, striking quickly to avoid utilizing its claws in the hunt. It probably wouldn’t have engaged in raptor-prey-restraint or wing-assisted-incline-running, since its arms were differently structured than living birds and other Dromaeosaurs, and it’s unlikely that it would have had as extensive of a wing surface.
Buitreraptor is known from multiple skeletons found together, indicating that it probably would have lived in family groups if nothing else, though they didn’t need to pack hunt since they mainly ate small animals and fish. These family groups would probably have communicated largely through display, with the wings and tail fan of Buitreraptor used to express interest in mating, discovery of food, and aggression. As in other dinosaurs, Buitreraptor most likely took care of its young, though fossil evidence for that is not known at this time. More individuals have been found of Buitreraptor over the years, indicating it was quite a common fixture in its environment. 
Tumblr media
By José Carlos Cortés 
Ecosystem: Buitreraptor lived in the Cretaceous of South America, a time of many environments transitioning from one to another in a beautiful succession of a specific type of environment compared to the surrounding areas. Whereas North America had Dromeaosaurs fulfilling the mid-sized predator role, South America had Megaraptors instead, whereas the Dromaeosaurs of South America were fishermen! Here there were many types of Titanosaurs, sometimes living together in the same environment; and large Carnosaurs and Abelisaurids present to hunt them. Instead of Hadrosaurs, there were the weird Elasmarians; and Ceratopsians were nowhere to be seen. The Candeleros Formation in particular occurred in the middle of the Cretaceous, and it is the earliest of the very well known of these environments (the one just underneath it shows a transition from the time of the last Diplodocoids (whip-tailed) sauropods to the time of the Titanosaur Uprising). Here, there was the titanosaur Andesaurus and some of the last Diplodocoids Limaysaurus, Nopcsaspondylus, and Rayososaurus; an Alvarezsaurid Alnashetri, a mysterious Coelurosaur Bicentenaria, an abelisaurid Ekrixinatosaurus, and unnamed probable Elasmarian, and one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs, Giganotosaurus, which would have been a real and present danger for Buitreraptor. Interestingly enough, the next formation in the series doesn’t have this behemoth, but it does have the impossibly large Argentinosaurus. 
Tumblr media
By Ripley Cook
This formation was a braided river system, with a variety of swamps and rich soil, and extensive sand deposits surrounding the swamps. Buitreraptor especially would have taken extensive advantage of the swamps, fishing in this wet habitat rather in the more semi-arid land around it. There were plenty of fish, frogs, tuatara relatives, turtles, and even a primitive snake for Buitreraptor to eat; in addition to some early mammals.
Other: Buitreraptor is a member of the Unenalgiines, which are a unique group of raptors in a variety of ways: they are some of the earliest to branch off from the rest; they are the only ones known from South America; and they are probably at least partially adapted for a water-based lifestyle rather than the hypercarnivorous lifestyle of their northern relatives. This makes Buitreraptor and its relatives of vital importance for understanding the evolution of raptors; it seems that these dinosaurs migrated down to the southern continent early in the Cretaceous period, and given one of the most basal raptors is known to be aquatic, simply adapted even more thoroughly for a water-based lifestyle.
~ By Meig Dickson
Sources under the Cut 
Gianechini, F.A.; Apesteguía, S.; Makovicky, P.J (2009). "The unusual dentiton of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum (Theropoda: Dromaeosauridae), from Patagonia, Argentina: new insights on the unenlagine teeth". Ameghiniana. 46 (4): 29R.
Gianechini, F. A., P. J. Makovicky, and S. Apesteguía. 2011. The teeth of the unenlagiine theropod Buitreraptor from the Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina, and the unusual dentition of the Gondwanan dromaeosaurids. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 56(2):279-290
Gianechini, F. A., P. J. Makovicky, and S. Apesteguía. 2017. The cranial osteology of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum Makovicky, ApesteguÍa, and AgnolÍn, 2005 (Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae), from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(1):e1255639:1-19
Gianechini, F. A., P. J. Makovicky, S. Apesteguía. 2018. Postcranial skeletal anatomy of the holotype and referred specimens of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum Makovicky, Apesteguía, and Angolín 2005 (Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae), from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. PeerJ 6: e4558.
Leanza, H.A.; S. Apesteguia; F.E. Novas, and M.S. De la Fuente. 2004. Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages. Cretaceous Research 25. 61–87.
Makovicky, P. J., S. Apesteguía, and F. L. Agnolín. 2005. The earliest dromaeosaurid theropod from South America. Nature 437:1007-1011
Motta, M. J., F. Brissón Egli, F. E. Novas. 2018. Tail anatomy of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum (Theropoda, Unenlagiidae) and comparisons with other basal paravians. Cretaceous Research 83: 168 - 181.
Novas, F. E., F. Brissón Egli, F. L. Angolín, I. Cerda. 2018. Postcranial osteology of a new specimen of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum (theropoda, Unenlagiidae). Cretaceous Research 83: 127 - 167.
Sánchez, María Lidia; Susana Heredia, and Jorge O. Calvo. 2006. Paleoambientes sedimentarios del Cretácico Superior de la Formación Plottier (Grupo Neuquén), Departamento Confluencia, Neuquén (Sedimentary paleoenvironments in the Upper Cretaceous Plottier Formation (Neuquen Group), Confluencia, Neuquén). Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 61. 3–18.
Wichmann, R. 1929. Los Estratos con Dinosaurios y su techo en el este del Territorio del Neuquén ("The dinosaur-bearing strata and their upper limit in eastern Neuquén Territory"). Dirección General de Geología, Minería e Hidrogeología Publicación 32. 1–9.
246 notes · View notes