Diuqin (meaning "bird of prey") is an extinct genus of unenlagiine theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Bajo de la Carpa Formation of Argentina. The genus contains a Monotypic taxon, Diuqin lechiguanae, known from a humerus and fragmentary vertebrae.
Discovery and naming
The
Diuqin holotype specimen, MUCPv 1401, was discovered in sediments of the Bajo de la Carpa Formation in Neuquén Province of Argentinian Patagonia. The specimen consists of most of the left
humerus and pieces of a
sacrum and
caudal vertebra, and other possibly vertebral fragments.
It was described as a new genus and species of unenlagiine theropod in 2024. The Genus, Diuqin, is Mapudungun for "bird of prey". The specific name, lechiguanae, refers to Lechiguana, the witch in the 1975 Argentine film Nazareno Cruz y Lobo.
Classification
Diquin was scored in a phylogenetic analysis and found in a large
polytomy of
maniraptoriforms. It had to be pruned from the analysis to recover better resolution in the tree. Doing this suggested possible close relationships to any of the tested unenlagiines.
Paleoenvironment
Diuqin is known from the Bajo de la Carpa Formation, which dates to the
Santonian age of the late
Cretaceous period. Its depositional environment was likely warm and semiarid. Many other dinosaurs are known from the formation, including several other non-avian theropods (the
alvarezsauroids Alvarezsaurus and
Achillesaurus, the
Velocisaurus,
Viavenator, and
Llukalkan, and the
megaraptoran Tratayenia), many
sauropods (
Bonitasaura,
Inawentu,
Overosaurus,
Rinconsaurus, and
Traukutitan), birds (
Neuquenornis,
Patagopteryx, and some eggs and nests), the ornithopod
Mahuidacursor, and an indeterminate
ankylosaur.
Other animals include snakes (
Dinilysia), lizards (
Paleochelco), turtles (
Lomalatachelys), crocodyliforms (
Comahuesuchus brachybuccalis,
Cynodontosuchus,
Gasparinisuchus,
Kinesuchus,
Microsuchus,
Neuquensuchus,
Notosuchus, and
Wargosuchus), and indeterminate
.
