Xenotarsosaurus

 ( Abelisauridae ) 

Xenotarsosaurus is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous of Argentina.

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Discovery In 1980 geologist Juan Carlos Sciutto discovered a rich fossil site six kilometres north of the Ocho Hermanos ranch in Chubut Province province. Among the fossils found there were some theropod remains. Later, a team led by Argentinian paleontology José Fernando Bonaparte recovered some more theropod bones, possibly from the same individual.

In 1986, Rubén Martínez, Olga Giménez, Jorge Rodríguez and Graciela Bochatey described the theropod fossils and coined the genus and species Xenotarsosaurus bonapartei for them. The generic name is derived from Greek language xenos, "strange", tarsos, "tarsus", and sauros, "lizard", a reference to the exceptional build of the ankle. The specific name bonapartei honours Bonaparte.R.N. Martínez, O. Giménez, J. Rodríguez & G. Bochatey, 1986, " Xenotarsosaurus bonapartei nov. gen. et sp. (Carnosauria, Abelisauridae), un nuevo Theropoda de la Formacion Bajo Barreal, Chubut, Argentina", IV Congreso Argentino de Paleontologia y Bioestratigrafia 1: 23-31

The (and only known fossils of Xenotarsosaurus) were found in the Bajo Barreal Formation. In 1986 this formation was seen as Campanian; today it is thought to date to the earlier Cenomanian–Turonian. The bones consist of two : UNPSJB PV 184, a series of two anterior dorsal , and PVL 612, a right hind limb including the long femur, the tibia, fibula and astragalocalcaneum of the ankle. The exceptional complete fusion, without sutures, of the talus bone and calcaneum, forming an element that is again fused to the widened lower end of the tibia, occasioned the generic name.

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Description In 2010 Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at 6 meters (19.7 ft), its weight at 750 kg (1,654 lbs). In 2016, its length was estimated to be . The same year Molina-Pérez & Larramendi gave a similar length of 5.4 meters (18 ft) and a weight of 430 kg (948 lbs).

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Classification The remains show some similarities to Carnotaurus sastrei, causing the describers to assign Xenotarsosaurus to the Abelisauridae, which has remained a common determination. However, it has also been proposed that Xenotarsosaurus is a of uncertain affinities.R.A. Coria and J. Rodríguez, 1993, "Sobre Xenotarsosaurus bonapartei Martínez, Giménez, Rodríguez y Bochatey, 1986; un problematico Neoceratosauria (Novas, 1989) del Cretácico de Chubut", Ameghiniana 30(3): 326-327

In 2021, Xenotarsosaurus was placed as an abelisaurid more derived than Eoabelisaurus based on phylogenetic analyses. A 2022 phylogenetic analysis also recovered the genus as an abelisaurid.

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See also

• Timeline of ceratosaur research

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Notes

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External links

• Xenotarsosaurus at DinoData
• Xenotarsosaurus at The Theropod Database

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