Siats Temporal range: Cenomanian, | |
---|---|
Skeletal reconstruction of known elements | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Clade: | Avetheropoda |
Clade: | † Megaraptora |
Family: | † Megaraptoridae (?) |
Genus: | † Siats Zanno & Makovicky, 2013 |
Type species | |
†Siats meekerorum Zanno & Makovicky, 2013 |
Siats (/see-ats/) is an extinct genus of large theropod dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation (Mussentuchit Member) of Utah, United States. The genus contains a single species, Siats meekerorum. It was initially classified as a megaraptoran, a clade of large theropods with controversial relationships. Alternative positions within the Neovenatoridae, Allosauroidea, and Tyrannosauroidea have also been proposed.
Siats was described by Lindsay E. Zanno and Peter J. Makovicky in 2013. The generic name references a man-eating monster in Ute mythology. The specific name meekerorum honors the geologist John Caldwell Meeker and his family for their support of paleontological research. [1] [2]
Siats is known from the holotype specimen, FMNH PR 2716, a partial postcranial skeleton housed at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. The specimen consists of five dorsal vertebrae, eight caudal vertebrae, a chevron, a partial right ilium, ischium, fibula, tibia, and several right and left pedal phalanges. The specimen was discovered by Lindsay Zanno as a part of a 2008 Field Museum expedition with Peter Makovicky. The bones were first seen protruding out of a hillside, prompting the excavation. It was collected between 2008 and 2010 from the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation in Emery County of Utah, dating to the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, approximately 94.5 million years ago. [1] [2] [3]
The Siats holotype specimen consists of material from a single individual that is considered skeletally immature based on the incomplete fusion of neural arches to the centra of the dorsal vertebrae. Siats is characterized by seven traits, including four autapomorphies. These include the subtriangular cross section of the distal caudal vertebrae, elongated centrodiapophyseal laminae lacking noticeable infradiapophyseal fossae on the proximal caudals, a transversely concaved acetabular rim of iliac pubic peduncle, and the presence of a notch on the end of the truncated lateral brevis shelf. Other notable traits include the broad neural spines on the dorsal vertebrae. [1]
Siats represents one of the largest known theropods from the 'mid'-Cretaceous of North America. Using a femur circumference regression, Zanno and Mackovicky (2013) estimated its mass at roughly 3.9 metric tons (4.3 short tons). They further wrote that the holotype was already comparable in size to Saurophaganax and Acrocanthosaurus despite its immaturity. [1]
In its 2013 description, Siats was initially classified as a megaraptoran within the Neovenatoridae, based on the presence of pronounced centrodiapophyseal laminae bracketed by deep infradiapophyseal fossa on the caudal neural arches, similar to that of the megaraptoran Aerosteon . These results, following Zanno & Makovicky (2013), are displayed in the cladogram below: [1]
In the 2014 description of a juvenile Megaraptor specimen, the referral of Siats to Megaraptora was contested, and megaraptorans were found to more likely be tyrannosauroids rather than neovenatorids such as Siats. The paper noted that, although sharing various features with Neovenator , Siats could be distinguished from megaraptorans in the structure of its dorsal vertebrae, ilium, and fibula. [4] A subsequent analysis conducted by Coria and Currie (2016), which even placed megaraptorans as neovenatorids, still placed Siats and Chilantaisaurus as neovenatorids outside of Megaraptora. [5] However, Bell et al. (2016) recovered Siats as a member of Coelurosauria of uncertain phylogenetic placement within this group; their analyses found variable positions for Siats, as a relative of ornithomimosaurs, a theropod more closely related to maniraptorans than tyrannosauroids, a basal megaraptoran, or a tyrannosauroid more closely related to tyrannosaurids than Xiongguanlong . [6]
Naish and Cau (2022) recovered the taxon as the basalmost megaraptoran, with this clade diverging after Xiongguanlong, and supported Siats and Chilantaisaurus as representing a wave of gigantism in tyrannosauroids preceding the Tyrannosauridae. [7] In their 2025 analysis of allosauroid phylogenetics, Kellermann, Cuesta & Rauhut consistently recovered Siats as a megaraptoran, noting that it shares a specific position of pneumatic fossa with this clade. [8] The cladogram below follows Naish and Cau (2022), who found Siats within Megaraptora as part of Tyrannosauroidea: [7]
Carnosauria is an extinct group of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Fukuiraptor was a medium-sized megaraptoran theropod dinosaur of the Early Cretaceous epoch that lived in what is now Japan. Fukuiraptor is known from the Kitadani Formation and possibly also the Sebayashi Formation.
Eotyrannus is a genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur hailing from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation beds, included in Wealden Group, located in the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The remains (MIWG1997.550), consisting of assorted skull, axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton elements, from a juvenile or subadult, found in a plant debris clay bed, were described by Hutt et al. in early 2001. The etymology of the generic name refers to the animal's classification as an early tyrannosaur or "tyrant lizard", while the specific name honors the discoverer of the fossil.
Chilantaisaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur, possibly a neovenatorid or a primitive coelurosaur, from the Late Cretaceous Ulansuhai Formation of China. The type species, C. tashuikouensis, was described by Hu in 1964.
Deltadromeus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Aoufous Formation of Morocco.
Megaraptor is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived in the ages of the Late Cretaceous. Its fossils have been discovered in the Patagonian Portezuelo Formation of Argentina, South America. Initially thought to have been a giant dromaeosaur-like coelurosaur, it was classified as a neovenatorid allosauroid in previous phylogenies, but more recent phylogeny and discoveries of related megaraptoran genera has placed it as either a basal tyrannosauroid or a basal coelurosaur with some studies still considering it a neovenatorid.
Tyrannosauroidea is a superfamily of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that includes the family Tyrannosauridae as well as more basal relatives. Tyrannosauroids lived on the Laurasian supercontinent beginning in the Jurassic Period. By the end of the Cretaceous Period, tyrannosauroids were the dominant large predators in the Northern Hemisphere, culminating in the gigantic Tyrannosaurus. Fossils of tyrannosauroids have been recovered on what are now the continents of North America, Europe and Asia, with fragmentary remains possibly attributable to tyrannosaurs also known from South America and Australia.
Nanshiungosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurid that lived in what is now Asia during the Late Cretaceous of South China. The type species, Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus, was first discovered in 1974 and described in 1979 by Dong Zhiming. It is represented by a single specimen preserving most of the cervical and dorsal vertebrae with the pelvis. A supposed and unlikely second species, "Nanshiungosaurus" bohlini, was found in 1992 and described in 1997. It is also represented by vertebrae but this species however, differs in geological age and lacks authentic characteristics compared to the type, making its affinity to the genus unsupported.
Orkoraptor is a genus of medium-sized megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of Argentina. It is known from incomplete fossil remains including parts of the skull, teeth, tail vertebrae, and a partial tibia. The specialized teeth resemble those of some maniraptoriform theropods, namely the deinonychosaurs and compsognathids. This and other anatomical features led the authors who described it to suggest that it was a maniraptoran coelurosaur. However, subsequent studies found it to be a megaraptoran. Found in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation of Southern Patagonia, it is one of the southernmost carnivorous dinosaurs known from South America.
Aerosteon is a genus of megaraptoran dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Argentina. Its remains were discovered in 1996 in the Anacleto Formation, which is from the late Campanian. The type and only known species is A. riocoloradensis. Its specific name indicates that its remains were found 1 km north of the Río Colorado, in Mendoza Province, Argentina.
Xiongguanlong is an extinct genus of tyrannosauroid theropod from the Early Cretaceous period of what is now China. The type and only species is X. baimoensis. The generic name comes from Jiayuguan City and the Mandarin word "long" which means dragon. The specific epithet, "baimoensis" is a latinization of the Mandarin word for "white ghost" in reference to one of the geological features of the type locality.
Shaochilong is an extinct genus of tetanuran theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Miaogou Formation of China, though a more restrictive suggestion from the Aptian to the Albian has been suggested based off faunal composition. It was originally described as a carcharodontosaurid, but other phylogenies have suggested a different position as a tyrannosauroid. The type species, S. maortuensis, was originally named Chilantaisaurus maortuensis, but was re-described and reclassified in 2009.
Australovenator is a genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from Cenomanian -age Winton Formation of Australia. Some specimens from the Albian-aged Eumeralla Formation as well as the Wonthaggi Formation may belong to Australovenator. It is known from partial cranial and postcranial remains which were described in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues, although additional descriptions and analyses continue to be published. It is the most complete predatory dinosaur discovered in Australia. It has been suggested that Australovenator is a sister taxon to Fukuiraptor, although some phylogenetic analyses find it to be a more derived member of the Megaraptora, possibly being part of the main Megaraptoridae family itself.
Megaraptora is a clade of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs with controversial relationships to other tetanuran theropods. Its derived members, the Megaraptoridae are noted for their large hand claws and powerfully-built forelimbs, which are usually reduced in size in other large theropods.
Proceratosauridae is a family or clade of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.
Juratyrant is a tyrannosauroid dinosaur genus from the late Jurassic period of England. The genus contains a single species, Juratyrant langhami, which was once classed as a species of Stokesosaurus.
Gualicho is a genus of theropod dinosaur. The type species is Gualicho shinyae. It lived in what is now northern Patagonia, on what was then a South American island continent split off from the supercontinent Gondwana. The fossils were found in the Huincul Formation, dating to the late Cenomanian-early Turonian age of the upper Cretaceous Period, around 91 million years ago.
Murusraptor is a genus of carnivorous megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from the Sierra Barrosa Formation, part of the Neuquén Group of Patagonia, in Argentina, South America. It is known from a single specimen that consists of a partial skull, ribs, partial pelvis, leg and other assorted skeletal elements.
Phuwiangvenator is an extinct genus of megaraptoran theropod that lived during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now Thailand. It contains only the type species, P. yaemniyomi. The generic name of Phuwiangvenator comes from the Phu Wiang mountains, where the holotype was discovered, and the Latin word "venator" meaning hunter. The specific name, "yaemniyomi", is in honor of Sudham Yaemniyom, who was a historical paleontologist from Thailand and the first person to discover fossils there.
Meraxes is a genus of large carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Huincul Formation of Patagonia, Argentina. The genus contains a single species, Meraxes gigas.