AN ENIGMATIC PLANT-EATING THEROPOD FROM THE LATE JURASSIC OF CHILE

NOVAS, F. E.; SALGADO, L.; SUAREZ, M.; AGNOLIN, F. L.; EZCURRA, M. D.; CHIMENTO, N. R.; DE LA CRUZ, R.; ISASI, M. P.; VARGAS, A.; RUBILAR-ROGERS, D.

NATURE

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2015

0028-0836

Theropod dinosaurs were the dominant predators in most Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems1. Early theropod evolution is currently interpreted as the diversification of various carnivorous and cursorial taxa, whereas the acquisition of  herbivorism in joint with the secondary loss of cursorial adaptations occurred much later among advanced coelurosaurian theropods1,2. A new bizarre, herbivorous basal tetanuran from the Upper Jurassic of Chile challenges this conception. The new dinosaur was discovered at Aysén, a fossil locality in the Upper Jurassic Toqui Formation of southern Chile (General Carrera Lake)3,4. The site yielded abundant and exquisitely preserved three-dimensional skeletons of small archosaurs. Several articulated individuals of Chilesaurus at different ontogenetic stages have been collected, as well as less abundant basal crocodyliforms, and fragmentary remains of sauropod dinosaurs (diplodocids and titanosaurians).