#Ekrixinatosaurus novasi

[renzybrooo]

Ekrixinatosaurus novasi by Gabriel Ugueto

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Ekrixinatosaurus novasi

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 

Ekrixinatosaurus is known from the Candeleros Formation of Neuquén, Argentina 

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. 

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.

[iknowdino]

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/…

[kingoftieland]

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. 💥

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Ekrixinatosaurus novasi

Source: http://dinosaurs.wikia.com/wiki/Ekrixinatosaurus

Name: Ekrixinatosaurus novasi 

Name Meaning: Explosion-Born Lizard

First Described: 2004

Described By: Calvo, Rubilar-Rogers & Moreno 

Classification: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Abelisauridae, Carnotaurinae, Brachyrostra 

Ekrixinatosaurus was a Carnotaur from the Candeleros Formation in Argentina. It is from Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 98 million years ago. Interestingly enough, it was found during an explosion. It is possibly the largest abelisaurid known, estimated to be about 10 to 11 meters long. It was robust, with a large head, and was either a powerful predator or a scavenger, using its size to scare away predators from their kills. However it was the contemporary of Giganotosaurus and Mapusaurus, and would have to have avoided them, but it could have been good competition for them. It lived in the same environment as the sauropods Andesaurus, Limaysaurus and Nopcsaspondylus, some iguanodontids, and the dromeosaurid Buitreraptor, the alvarezsaurid Alnashetri, the coelurosaurian Bicentenaria, and other small animals and pterosaurs. 

Sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekrixinatosaurus

http://dinosaurs.wikia.com/wiki/Ekrixinatosaurus

Shout out goes to alter-impala!