Ypupiara Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
---|---|
Restoration of head | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Family: | † Dromaeosauridae |
Subfamily: | † Unenlagiinae |
Genus: | † Ypupiara Brum et al., 2021 |
Species: | †Y. lopai |
Binomial name | |
†Ypupiara lopai Brum et al., 2021 | |
Ypupiara (meaning "the one who lives in the water") is an extinct genus of unenlagiine theropod from the Late Cretaceous Serra da Galga Formation of Brazil. [1] It was the first member of the Dromaeosauridae to be discovered in South America and the first member of the Unenlagiinae to be discovered, but not the first to be identified as such. The type and only species, Y. lopai, is known solely from a specimen that was destroyed in a fire in 2018.
The holotype, DGM 921-R, a right maxilla and dentary (which was associated with a fish jaw), was discovered in a layer of the Late Cretaceous Serra da Galga Formation of Brazil. It was found by Alberto Lopa sometime in the 1950s, possibly in 1957, after which Llewellyn Ivor Price listed the fossil as belonging to an indeterminate vertebrate. [1] The specimen was then placed in storage at the National Museum of Brazil and was not acknowledged again for another 80 years.
Photographs of the holotype were taken shortly before it was destroyed when the museum it was housed in was heavily damaged in a fire on 2 September 2018. [1] [2] [3] [4] Holgado et al. (2018) recognised DGM 921-R as belonging to a new genus of unenlagiine theropods, [5] and the paper naming and describing the holotype was due to be submitted around the same time as the fire that destroyed the fossil, but was delayed because of the fire and the species was not named and described until 2021. [1] The generic name, Ypupiara, is derived from a Tupi word meaning "the one who lives in the water," in reference to a local mythological creature and its inferred diet of fish. The specific name, lopai, honors the holotype's discoverer. [1]
During the 1950s, a single metatarsus belonging to a dromaeosaurid was discovered by Alberto Lopa. This specimen, known as "Lopasaurus" (meaning "Alberto Lopa's lizard"), was lost sometime after the death of Llewellyn Ivor Price in 1980. It was acknowledged by Brum et al. (2021), where they tentatively referred "Lopasaurus" to the Unenlagiinae, but they could not determine whether "Lopasaurus" represents the same taxon as Ypupiara, due to the lack of overlapping material. [1]
The describers of Ypuparia suggested that unenlagiines such as Ypupiara and its sister taxon Austroraptor likely consumed fish for a considerable part of their diet, based on their non-serrated conical teeth that are similar to those of other piscivorous tetrapods including gavialoid crocodylians, spinosaurid theropods, and anhanguerid pterosaurs. [1]
For the 80 years before it was described, Ypupiara was classified as an indeterminate vertebrate. It was not until it was described in 2021 by Brum et al. when it was recognised as a theropod belonging to the Unenlagiinae. Ypupiara was found to be the sister taxon to Austroraptor . [1]
Buitreraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous of Argentina at the Candeleros Formation. Buitreraptor was described in 2005 and the type species is Buitreraptor gonzalezorum. It was rooster-sized and had a very elongated head with many small teeth.
Rahonavis is a genus of bird-like theropod from the Late Cretaceous of what is now northwestern Madagascar. It is known from a partial skeleton found by Catherine Forster and colleagues in Maevarano Formation rocks at a quarry near Berivotra, Mahajanga Province. Rahonavis was a small predator, at about 70 centimetres (2.3 ft) long and 0.45-2.27 kg, with the typical dromaesaurid-like raised sickle claw on the second toe. It was originally the first African coelurosaur until the discovery of Nqwebasaurus in 2000.
Pyroraptor is an extinct genus of paravian dinosaur, probably a dromaeosaurid or unenlagiid, from the Late Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican island, of what is now southern France. It lived during the late Campanian and early Maastrichtian stages, approximately 72 million years ago. It is known from a single partial specimen that was found in Provence in 1992, after a forest fire. The animal was named Pyroraptor olympius by Allain and Taquet in 2000.
Unenlagia is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period. The genus Unenlagia has been assigned two species: U. comahuensis, the type species described by Novas and Puerta in 1997, and U. paynemili, described by Calvo et al. in 2004.
Unquillosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Los Blanquitos Formation of Salta Province, Argentina. Its precise classification is uncertain, but most researchers consider it as a maniraptoran. The genus contains a single species, U. ceibalii, known only from a single fossilized pubis.
Hulsanpes is a genus of halszkaraptorine theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia, about 75-72 million years ago. The remains were found in 1970 and formally described in 1982 by Halszka Osmólska, who noted that the genus is represented by an immature individual. Hulsanpes represents the first record of the basal dromaeosaurid subfamily Halszkaraptorinae.
Pycnonemosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that belonged to the family Abelisauridae. It was found in the Upper Cretaceous red conglomerate sandstones of the Cachoeira do Bom Jardim Formation, Mato Grosso, Brazil, and it lived during the late Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.
Unenlagiinae is a subfamily of long-snouted paravian theropods. They are traditionally considered to be members of Dromaeosauridae, though some authors place them into their own family, Unenlagiidae, sometimes alongside the subfamily Halszkaraptorinae. Definitive members are known from South America, though some researchers include taxa from other continents within this subfamily based on phylogenetic analyses.
Shanag is a genus of paravian theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period of Mongolia. It may be a dromaeosaurid, but some researchers are skeptical of this classification. The type species is S. ashile.
Austroraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Campanian and Maastrichtian ages of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Argentina.
Pamparaptor is an extinct genus of paravian theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Portezuelo Formation of the Neuquén province in Argentine Patagonia. Its precise classification is uncertain, but the authors who described this taxon have argued that it is a dromaeosaurid. The genus contains a single species, P. micros, which is known from a single specimen consisting of a mostly complete and fully-articulated left foot, which preserves the iconic dromaeosaur-like "killing claw".
Maaradactylus is a genus of anhanguerid pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous period of the Romualdo Formation of northeastern Brazil.
Unenlagiidae is a proposed family of eumaniraptoran paravians that includes the subfamilies Unenlagiinae and possibly Halszkaraptorinae. Fossils of both subfamilies have been found in both Gondwanan and Laurasian deposits. The biology of the group suggests that some members were semiaquatic specialists.
Imperobator is a genus of paravian theropod, a group of large, three-toed carnivorous dinosaurs, that lived during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now James Ross Island in Antarctica. Imperobator is one of only two non-avian theropods known from Antarctica, crossing over to the landmass when it was part of Gondwana. The only described specimen was found in 2003 by an expedition launched by the University of California Museum of Paleontology and initially described as a dromaeosaur in 2007. However, later searches reported more fossils from the site including teeth and skull bones. The fossils were formally described as a new genus of giant paravian in 2019.
Vespersaurus is a genus of noasaurid theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous Rio Paraná Formation in the Paraná Basin, Brazil. The type and only species is V. paranaensis, which would have lived in the giant prehistoric Botucatu Desert.
Keresdrakon is an extinct genus of azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Goio-Erê Formation of Brazil, which dates back to the Early Cretaceous period, 125 to 100.5 million years ago. Keresdrakon contains a single species, Keresdrakon vilsoni.
Aratasaurus is an extinct genus of basal coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Romualdo Formation of Brazil. The genus contains a single species, A. museunacionali, known from a partial right leg. Aratasaurus represents the only tetrapod fossil known from the lower levels of the Romualdo Formation.
Thanatosdrakon is a genus of quetzalcoatline azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous Plottier Formation of the Neuquén Basin in western Argentina. The genus name is derived from the Greek words thanatos (=death) and drakon (=dragon), while the specific name is a Quechuan word meaning "flying serpent" and refers to the Incan deity Amaru. The type and only species is Thanatosdrakon amaru, known from two specimens consisting of several well-preserved axial and appendicular bones including material previously undescribed in giant azhdarchids. Thanatosdrakon is one of the oldest known members of the Quetzalcoatlinae. T. amaru lived from about 90 to 86 million years ago.
The Serra da Galga Formation is a geological formation in Minas Gerais state of southeastern Brazil. Its strata date back to the Maastrichtian, and are part of the Bauru Group. It was originally considered a member of the Marília Formation.