Compsosuchus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
---|---|
Vertebra | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Genus: | † Compsosuchus Matley & Huene, 1933 |
Species: | †C. solus |
Binomial name | |
†Compsosuchus solus Matley & Huene, 1933 | |
Compsosuchus (meaning "elegant crocodile") is a dubious genus of abelisauroid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation of India.
Compsosuchus was described in 1933 by von Huene and Matley based on remains discovered between 1917 and 1919. [1] The type species is C. solus, and the type and only specimen is GSI K27/578, an axis with an articulated axial intersection. The genus is often considered a nomen dubium . [2]
Although classified as an allosaurid by Huene and Matley (1933) and Molnar et al. (1990) because of superficial similarities with the axis vertebrae of Allosaurus , a 2004 review of Lameta Formation theropods found it to be similar to members of the Abelisauridae, including Carnotaurus and Indosaurus , necessitating the placement of Compsosuchus as an abelisaurid. [3] [4] While a 2011 study classified Compsosuchus as a noasaurid, [5] a 2024 study identified it as an indeterminate abelisaurid. [6]
Rajasaurus is a genus of carnivorous abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of India, containing one species: Rajasaurus narmadensis. The bones were excavated from the Lameta Formation in the Gujarat state of Western India, probably inhabiting what is now the Narmada River Valley. It was formally described by palaeontologist Jeffrey A. Wilson and colleagues in 2003 based on a partial skeleton comprising the braincase, spine, hip bone, legs, and tail–a first for an Indian theropod. The dinosaur likely measured 6.6 metres (22 ft), and had a single horn on the forehead which was probably used for display and head-butting. Like other abelisaurids, Rajasaurus was probably an ambush predator.
Masiakasaurus is a genus of small predatory noasaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. In Malagasy, masiaka means "vicious"; thus, the genus name means "vicious lizard". The type species, Masiakasaurus knopfleri, was named after the musician Mark Knopfler, whose music inspired the expedition crew. It was named in 2001 by Scott D. Sampson, Matthew Carrano, and Catherine A. Forster. Unlike most theropods, the front teeth of M. knopfleri projected forward instead of straight down. This unique dentition suggests that they had a specialized diet, perhaps including fish and other small prey. Other bones of the skeleton indicate that Masiakasaurus were bipedal, with much shorter forelimbs than hindlimbs. M. knopfleri was a small theropod, reaching 1.8–2.1 m (5.9–6.9 ft) long and weighing 20 kg (44 lb).
Jainosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur of India and wider Asia, which lived in the Maastrichtian. It is thought to have been about the same size as its contemporary relative Isisaurus, measuring 18 metres (59 ft) long and weighing 15 metric tons. The humerus of the type specimen is 134 centimetres long.
Indosuchus is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period, a theropod related to Abelisaurus. Like most theropods, Indosuchus was a bipedal carnivore. It was about 7 metres long, weighed about 1.2 tonnes, and had a crested skull, flattened on the top.
Abelisauridae is a family of ceratosaurian theropod dinosaurs. Abelisaurids thrived during the Cretaceous period, on the ancient southern supercontinent of Gondwana, and today their fossil remains are found on the modern continents of Africa and South America, as well as on the Indian subcontinent and the island of Madagascar. Isolated teeth were found in the Late Jurassic of Portugal, and the Late Cretaceous genera Tarascosaurus and Arcovenator have been described in France. Abelisaurids first appear in the fossil record of the early middle Jurassic period, and at least three genera survived until the end of the Mesozoic era 66 million years ago.
Deltadromeus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Aoufous Formation of Morocco.
Abelisauroidea is a diverse superfamily of ceratosaurian dinosaurs, typically regarded as a Cretaceous group, though the earliest abelisaurid remains are known from the Middle Jurassic of Argentina and possibly Madagascar. Possible Abelisauridae remains were also discovered in Late Jurassic Tendaguru Beds in Tanzania.
Velocisaurus is a genus of noasaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Argentina.
Indosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now India, about 69 to 66 million years ago during the Maastrichtian division of the Late Cretaceous.
Coeluroides is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous Period in what is now India. It is based solely on the holotype caudal vertebrae GSI K27/562, K27/574 and K27/595, discovered in a layer of the Lameta Formation. The type species, C. largus, was described by Friedrich von Huene and Charles Alfred Matley in 1933.
Dryptosauroides is the name given to a dubious genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a large theropod, possibly belonging to the Abelisauroidea. It has been estimated as 10 meters long and 1.5 tonnes in weight.
Noasaurus is a genus of ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur genus from the late Campanian-Maastrichtian of Argentina. The type and only species is N. leali.
Laevisuchus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. Its remains were discovered by Charles Alfred Matley near Jabalpur in Maastrichtian "Carnosaur Bed" deposits in the Lameta Formation in Madhya Pradesh, central India, and were named and described by paleontologists Friedrich von Huene and Matley in 1933.
Ornithomimoides is a dubious genus of theropod dinosaur, from the Late Cretaceous Lameta Formation of India. Two species have been identified, the type species O. mobilis and O. barasimlensis, were named by von Huene in 1932 and were described by Matley in 1933 though they are known only from isolated vertebrae. O. barasimlensis is known from five dorsal vertebrae, and O. mobilis from four smaller vertebrae, found at the same location.
Spinostropheus is a genus of carnivorous neotheropod theropod dinosaur that lived in the Middle Jurassic period and has been found in the Tiouraren Formation, Niger. The type and only species is S. gautieri.
Noasauridae is an extinct family of theropod dinosaurs belonging to the group Ceratosauria. They were closely related to the short-armed abelisaurids, although most noasaurids had much more traditional body types generally similar to other theropods. Their heads, on the other hand, had unusual adaptations depending on the subfamily. 'Traditional' noasaurids, sometimes grouped in the subfamily Noasaurinae, had sharp teeth which splayed outwards from a downturned lower jaw.
The Lameta Formation, also known as the Infratrappean Beds, is a sedimentary geological formation found in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, India, associated with the Deccan Traps. It is of the Maastrichtian age, and is notable for its dinosaur fossils
Rahiolisaurus is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur which existed in India during the Late Cretaceous period. It was described in 2010, based on fossils recovered from the Lameta Formation in the Indian state of Gujarat. These fossils include elements from at least seven different individuals and are believed to have been from the Maastrichtian stage, sometime between 72.1 and 66 million years ago, making it one of the last non-avian dinosaurs known in the fossil record. Despite representing a variety of different growth stages, all recovered fossils from the locality indicate a single species, the type species Rahiolisaurus gujaratensis.
This timeline of ceratosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ceratosaurs, a group of relatively primitive, often horned, predatory theropod dinosaurs that became the apex predators of the southern hemisphere during the Late Cretaceous. The nature and taxonomic composition of the Ceratosauria has been controversial since the group was first distinguished in the late 19th century. In 1884 Othniel Charles Marsh described the new genus and species Ceratosaurus nasicornis from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of the western United States. He felt that it belonged in a new family that he called the Ceratosauridae. He created the new taxon Ceratosauria to include both the Ceratosauridae and the ostrich-like ornithomimids. The idea of the Ceratosauria was soon contested, however. Later that same decade both Lydekker and Marsh's hated rival Edward Drinker Cope argued that the taxon was invalid.