List of Indian and Madagascan dinosaurs

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Globe showing union of India and Madacascar, approx 100 Mya 100 global.png
Globe showing union of India and Madacascar, approx 100 Mya

This is a list of non-avian dinosaurs whose remains have been recovered from the India n subcontinent or Madagascar . Though widely separated today, the Indian subcontinent and Madagascar were connected throughout much of the Mesozoic and shared similar dinosaur faunas, distinct from what has been found on other modern African and Asian landmasses.

Contents

The Indian fossil record of dinosaurs is good, with fossils coming from the entire Mesozoic era – starting with the Triassic period (a geological period that started 251.9 million years ago and continued till 201.3 million years ago), to the Jurassic period (201 million years ago to 145 million years ago) and Cretaceous period (from 145 million years ago to 66 million years ago), when globally all non-avian dinosaurs and 65 per cent of all life became extinct. Madagascar also preserves various unique dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous.

Criteria for inclusion

List of Indian and Madagascan dinosaurs

Valid genera

NameYearFormationLocationNotesImages
Alwalkeria 1994 Lower Maleri Formation (Late Triassic, Carnian)Flag of India.svg  India Possessed different types of teeth in its upper jaw Alwalkeria maleriensis.jpg
Archaeodontosaurus 2005 Isalo III Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bajocian to Bathonian)Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Retained "prosauropod"-like teeth despite its late age Archaeodontosaurus LM.png
Barapasaurus 1975 Kota Formation (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian to Pliensbachian)Flag of India.svg  India Several individuals have been found associated with tree trunks, which may represent the aftermath of a flood [1] Barapasaurus DB.jpg
Brachypodosaurus 1934 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Has been suggested to be a thyreophoran, but such an identification is unlikely
Bruhathkayosaurus 1987 Kallamedu Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Reportedly exceptionally large but its fossils have been lost. [2] Its bones have been informally speculated to be misidentified tree trunks [3] [4] [5] but later research suggests at least the tibia is real [6] Bruhathkayosaurus matleyi updated.png
Coeluroides 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Potentially synonymous with Ornithomimoides [7] Coeluroides largus.jpg
Compsosuchus 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Has been suggested to be both an abelisaurid [8] and a noasaurid [9] Compsosuchus solus.jpg
Dahalokely 2013 Ambolafotsy Formation (Late Cretaceous, Turonian)Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Shares features of both abelisaurids and noasaurids Dahalokely.png
Dandakosaurus 1982 Kota Formation (Early Jurassic, Pliensbachian to Toarcian)Flag of India.svg  India Poorly known but large for an early theropod Dandakosaurus.png
Dryptosauroides 1932 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Only known from six caudal vertebrae Dryptosauroides grandis.jpg
Indosaurus 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Had a characteristically thickened skull Indosaurus.jpg
Indosuchus 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Its skull was flattened and topped by a short crest Indosuchus.jpg
Isisaurus 2003 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Unusually proportioned with a short, robust neck and long limbs Isisaurus colberti reconstruction.png
Jainosaurus 1995 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Originally named as a species of Antarctosaurus Jainosaurus septentrionalis life restoration.png
Jaklapallisaurus 2011 Upper Maleri Formation (Late Triassic, Norian to Rhaetian)Flag of India.svg  India May have been closely related to South American sauropodomorphs [10]
Kotasaurus 1988 Kota Formation (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian to Pliensbachian)Flag of India.svg  India The neural spines of its vertebrae were massively constructed, which is a basal trait 160-million-year-old mounted dinosaur skeleton.jpg
Laevisuchus 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Only known from three vertebrae but can confidently be assigned to the Noasauridae [11] Laevisuchus cervical vertebra.png
Lametasaurus 1923 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Described based on now lost remains, it is currently seen as a possible chimera including theropod material and osteoderms of uncertain origin Lametasaurus tibia.png
Lamplughsaura 2007 Upper Dharmaram Formation (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian)Flag of India.svg  India Large and robustly built Lamplughsaura BW.jpg
Lapparentosaurus 1986 Isalo III Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bathonian)Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Relatively fast-growing as evidenced by the preservation of a large amount of fibrolamellar bone [12] Lapparentosaurus femur.png
Majungasaurus 1955 Maevarano Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Bite marks on several specimens have been found to perfectly match the teeth of this genus, suggesting cannibalistic tendencies [13] Majungasaurus size reference.png
Maleriraptor 2025 Upper Maleri Formation (Late Triassic, Norian)Flag of India.svg  India This genus fills a temporal gap between older South American herrerasaurs and younger North American taxa [14] Upper Maleri Formation dinosaurs (Maleriraptor and Jaklapallisaurus).jpg
Masiakasaurus 2001 Maevarano Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Possessed procumbent teeth at the tips of its jaws which may indicate a feeding specialization Masiakasaurus BW (flipped).jpg
Nambalia 2011 Upper Maleri Formation (Late Triassic, Norian to Rhaetian)Flag of India.svg  India Known from the remains of two individuals
Narindasaurus 2020 Isalo III Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bathonian to Callovian)Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar The oldest known turiasaur Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis left pubis.jpg
Ornithomimoides 1932 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Two species have been named, both from isolated vertebrae Ornithomimoides mobilis.jpg
Orthogoniosaurus 1931 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Only known from a single, fragmentary tooth
Pradhania 2007 Upper Dharmaram Formation (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian)Flag of India.svg  India Closely related to Massospondylus [15] Pradhania.png
Rahiolisaurus 2010 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Remains of multiple growth stages are known Rahiolisaurus restoration.png
Rajasaurus 2003 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Possessed a single, short horn on its forehead that may have been used for display and head-butting [16] Rajasaurus restoration.jpg
Rapetosaurus 2001 Maevarano Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar Known from almost the entire skeleton, including the skull Rapetosaurus Scale.svg
Tharosaurus 2023 Jaisalmer Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bathonian)Flag of India.svg  India The oldest dicraeosaurid, diplodocoid and neosauropod currently known Tharosaurus UDL.png
Titanosaurus 1877 Kallakurichi Formation, Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of India.svg  India Although only known from a few bones, this genus is the namesake of the Titanosauria and the Titanosauriformes Titanosaurus.jpg
Vahiny 2014 Maevarano Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar May have been a rare component of its habitat due to the paucity of its remains

Invalid and potentially valid genera

Timeline

This is a timeline of selected dinosaurs from the list above. Time is measured in Ma, megaannum, along the x-axis.

MesozoicTriassicJurassicCretaceousVahinyRapetosaurusRajasaurusRahonavisRahiolisaurusOrthogoniosaurusOrnithomimoidesMajungasaurusLaevisuchusJubbulpuriaJainosaurusIsisaurusIndosuchusIndosaurusDryptosauridesCompsosuchusCoeluroidesBrachypodosaurusBruhathkayosaurusMasiakasaurusDravidosaurusNarindasaurusLapparentosaurusDandakosaurusBarapasaurusKotasaurusArchaeodontosaurusLamplughsauraPradhaniaAlwalkeriaMesozoicTriassicJurassicCretaceousList of Indian and Madagascan dinosaurs

See also

References

  1. Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; David D. Gillette; Sanghamitra Ray; Dhurjati P. Sengupta (2010). "Osteology of Barapasaurus tagorei (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Early Jurassic of India". Palaeontology. 53 (3): 533–569. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00933.x . ISSN   1475-4983.
  2. Galton, Peter M.; Ayyasami, Krishnan (1 July 2017). "Purported latest bone of a plated dinosaur (Ornithischia: Stegosauria), a "dermal plate" from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of southern India". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 285 (1): 91–96. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2017/0671. ISSN   0077-7749.
  3. Holtz, T. (1995), "Re: Biggest predators", discussion group, The Dinosaur Mailing List, 22 September 1995. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  4. Mortimer, M. (2006), "Re:", discussion group, The Dinosaur Mailing List, 17 November 2006. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  5. Brusatte, S. (2001), "Re: Bruhathkayosaurus", discussion group, The Dinosaur Mailing List, 18 June 2001. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  6. Pal, Saurabh; Ayyasami, Krishnan (27 June 2022). "The lost titan of Cauvery". Geology Today . 38 (3): 112–116. doi:10.1111/gto.12390. ISSN   0266-6979. S2CID   250056201.
  7. Wilson. (2012). Small theropod dinosaurs from the Latest Cretaceous of India. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Program and Abstracts 2012, 194.
  8. F. E. Novas, F. L. Agnolin, and S. Bandyopadhyay, 2004, "Cretaceous theropods from India: a review of specimens described by Huene and Matley (1933)", Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, nuevo serie 6(1): 67-103
  9. New materials of Masiakasaurus knopfleri Sampson, Carrano, and Forster, 2001, and implications for the morphology of the Noasauridae (Theropoda: Ceratosauria) / Matthew T. Carrano, Mark A. Loewen, and Joseph J. W. Sertich.
  10. Rodrigo Temp Müller; Max Cardoso Langer; Sérgio Dias-da-Silva (2018). "An exceptionally preserved association of complete dinosaur skeletons reveals the oldest long-necked sauropodomorphs". Biology Letters. 14 (11): 20180633. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0633. PMC   6283919 . PMID   30463923.
  11. Rauhut, Oliver W. M.; Carrano, Matthew T. (2016-04-22). "The theropod dinosaur Elaphrosaurus bambergi Janensch, 1920, from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru, Tanzania". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 178 (3): 546–610. doi:10.1111/zoj.12425. ISSN   0024-4082.
  12. Rimblot-Baly, F.; de Ricqlès, A.; Zylberberg, L. (1995). "Analyse paléohistologique d'une série de croissance partielle chez Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis (Jurassique Moyen): essai sur la dynamique de croissance d'un dinosaure sauropode". Annales de Paléontologie. 81: 49–86.
  13. Rogers, Raymond R.; Krause, David W.; Curry Rogers, Kristina (2007). "Cannibalism in the Madagascan dinosaur Majungatholus atopus". Nature. 422 (6931): 515–518. Bibcode:2003Natur.422..515R. doi:10.1038/nature01532. PMID   12673249. S2CID   4389583.
  14. Ezcurra, Martín D.; Garcia, Maurício Silva; Novas, Fernando E.; Müller, Rodrigo Temp; Agnolín, Federico L.; Chatterjee, Sankar (2025-05-07). "A new herrerasaurian dinosaur from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri Formation of south-central India". Royal Society Open Science . 12 (5). doi: 10.1098/rsos.250081 . ISSN   2054-5703. PMC   12077243 .
  15. Fernando E. Novas; Martin D. Ezcurra; Sankar Chatterjee; T. S. Kutty (2011). "New dinosaur species from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri and Lower Dharmaram formations of central India". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 101 (3–4): 333–349. doi:10.1017/S1755691011020093.
  16. Paul, G. S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press. pp.  84–86. ISBN   978-0-691-13720-9.