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[Paleontology • 2025] Joaquinraptor casali • Latest Cretaceous megaraptorid theropod Dinosaur sheds light on megaraptoran evolution and palaeobiology
Abstract Recent fossil discoveries have cast considerable light on the palaeobiology of Megaraptora, a group of large-clawed carnivorous theropod dinosaurs known from Cretaceous deposits in Asia, Australia, and especially South America. Nevertheless, many important aspects of megaraptoran morphology and evolution remain poorly understood, due in large part to the fragmentary nature of most fossils of these theropods and the scarcity of anatomically overlapping skeletal elements among the known taxa. Here we report a previously unknown megaraptoran genus and species represented by a partially articulated partial skeleton recovered from an uppermost Cretaceous stratum of the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation of south-central Chubut Province in central Patagonia, Argentina. Pertaining to the derived megaraptoran subclade Megaraptoridae, the taxon is among the most completely represented and latest-surviving megaraptorans. Its stratigraphic occurrence indicates that these dinosaurs likely persisted to the Cretaceous/Palaeogene boundary; moreover, the preservation of a crocodyliform humerus between the dentaries of the new theropod may provide information on megaraptoran dietary preferences and feeding strategies. Megaraptorids appear to have been the apex predators in central and southern Patagonian palaeoecosystems approaching the end of the Cretaceous, in contrast to more northerly areas of South America where these niches were occupied by other non-avian theropod groups. Systematic palaeontology Saurischia Seeley, 1887 Theropoda Marsh, 1881 Tetanurae Gauthier, 1986 Megaraptora Benson, Carrano, and Brusatte, 2010 Megaraptoridae Novas, Agnolín, Ezcurra, Porfiri, and Canale, 2013 Joaquinraptor casali gen. et sp. nov. Etymology: Joaquín, in tribute to the son of the first author (L.M.I.) and the informal name given to the locality when the skeleton of the taxon was discovered (Valle Joaquín); Latin, raptor, thief. Specific epithet casali in recognition of Dr. Gabriel Andrés Casal for his many contributions to knowledge of the Cretaceous palaeontology and geology of central Patagonia (including the formal recognition and naming of the formation from which this megaraptorid was recovered).
Lucio M. Ibiricu, Matthew C. Lamanna, Bruno N. Alvarez, Ignacio A. Cerda, Julieta L. Caglianone, Noelia V. Cardozo, Marcelo Luna and Rubén D. Martínez. 2025. Latest Cretaceous megaraptorid theropod Dinosaur sheds light on megaraptoran evolution and palaeobiology. Nature Communications. 16: 8298. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63793-5 [23 September 2025] |
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