First abelisaurid bone remains from the Maastrichtian

FERNANDO E. NOVAS; ISMAR DE SOUZA CARVALHO; LUIZ CARLOS BORGES RIBEIRO; ARIEL H. MÉNDEZ

CRETACEOUS RESEARCH (PRINT)

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2008 p. 625 - 635

0195-6671

Bones of abelisaurid theropods from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Marilia Formation, Bauru Basin, Brazil, are here described. They are a dorsal vertebra, the distal part of a femur, and a pedal phalanx corresponding to three specimens found in different fossil sites of Uberaba County, Minas Gerais State. These specimens are the first abelisaurid bones from Uberaba County and thus verify the presence of these theropods, previously indicated only by isolated teeth. The new discoveries, together with that of the abelisaurid Pycnonemosaurus found elsewhere in the Bauru Basin, indicate that these theropods were the most common large predatory dinosaurs in South America during the Cretaceous. The assemblage of abelisaurid theropods and titanosaurid sauropods in the Maastrichtian beds of Brazil is congruent with that documented in sameaged beds of Patagonia. Pycnonemosaurus found elsewhere in the Bauru Basin, indicate that these theropods were the most common large predatory dinosaurs in South America during the Cretaceous. The assemblage of abelisaurid theropods and titanosaurid sauropods in the Maastrichtian beds of Brazil is congruent with that documented in sameaged beds of Patagonia.