Carnotaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period, probably sometime between 71 and 69 million years ago. The only species is Carnotaurus sastrei. Known from a single well-preserved skeleton, it is one of the best-understood theropods from the Southern Hemisphere. The skeleton, found in 1984, was uncovered in the Chubut Province of Argentina from rocks of the La Colonia Formation. Carnotaurus is a derived member of the Abelisauridae, a group of large theropods that occupied the large predatorial niche in the southern landmasses of Gondwana during the late Cretaceous. Within the Abelisauridae, the genus is often considered a member of the Brachyrostra, a clade of short-snouted forms restricted to South America.
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.
Abelisaurus is a genus of predatory abelisaurid theropod dinosaur alive during the Late Cretaceous Period (Campanian) of what is now South America. It was a bipedal carnivore that probably reached about 7.4 metres in length, although this is uncertain as it is known from only one partial skull.
Rugops is a monospecific genus of basal abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from Niger that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Echkar Formation. The type and only species, Rugops primus, is known only from a partial skull. It was named and described in 2004 by Paul Sereno, Jeffery Wilson and Jack Conrad. Rugops has an estimated length of 4.4–5.3 metres and weight of 410 kilograms. The top of its skull bears several pits which correlates with overlaying scale and the front of the snout would have had an armour-like dermis.
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.
Aucasaurus is a genus of medium-sized abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from Argentina that lived during the Late Cretaceous of the Anacleto Formation. It was smaller than the related Carnotaurus, although more derived in some ways, such as its extremely reduced arms and almost total lack of fingers. The type skeleton is complete to the thirteenth caudal vertebra, and so is relatively well understood, and is the most complete abelisaurid yet described. However, the skull is damaged, causing some paleontologists to speculate that it was involved in a fight prior to death.
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.
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.
Ilokelesia is an extinct genus of abelisaurid theropod, preserved in the layers of the earliest Late Cretaceous of the Huincul Formation, Neuquén Group, located near Plaza Huincul, Neuquén Province, Argentina. The specimen, consisting of very fragmentary elements of the skull and the axial and appendicular skeleton, was described by Rodolfo Coria and Leonardo Salgado in late 1998.
Quilmesaurus is a genus of carnivorous abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Patagonian Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. It was a member of Abelisauridae, closely related to genera such as Carnotaurus. The only known remains of this genus are leg bones which share certain similarities to a variety of abelisaurids. However, these bones lack unique features, which may render Quilmesaurus a nomen vanum.
Majungasaurus is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar from 70 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, making it one of the last-known non-avian dinosaurs that went extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The genus contains a single species, Majungasaurus crenatissimus. This dinosaur is also called Majungatholus, a name which is considered a junior synonym of Majungasaurus.
The Anacleto Formation is a geologic formation with outcrops in the Argentine Patagonian provinces of Mendoza, Río Negro, and Neuquén. It is the youngest formation within the Neuquén Group and belongs to the Río Colorado Subgroup. Formerly that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Anacleto Formation was known as the Anacleto Member.
Carnotaurini is a tribe of the theropod dinosaur family Abelisauridae from the Late Cretaceous period of Patagonia. It includes the dinosaurs Carnotaurus sastrei; the type species, Aucasaurus garridoi, and Abelisaurus comahuensis. This group was first proposed by paleontologists Rodolfo Coria, Luis Chiappe, and Lowell Dingus in 2002, being defined as a clade containing "Carnotaurus sastrei, Aucasaurus garridoi, their most recent common ancestor, and all of its descendants."
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.
Skorpiovenator is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Huincul Formation of Argentina. It is one of the most complete and informative abelisaurids yet known, described from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton.
Arcovenator is an extinct genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaurs hailing from the Late Cretaceous of France. The type and only described species is Arcovenator escotae.
Majungasaurinae is a subfamily of large carnivorous theropods from the Upper Cretaceous, found in Madagascar, India, and France. It is a subgroup within the theropod family Abelisauridae, a Gondwanan clade known for their thick and often horned skulls and vestigial arms. The two subfamilies of Abelisauridae are Carnotaurinae, best known from the South American Carnotaurus, and Majungasaurinae, consisting of Madagascar’s Majungasaurus and its closest relatives. Their ancestors emerged in the Middle Jurassic, and the clade lasted until the Upper Cretaceous.
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.
Tralkasaurus is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur from the Huincul Formation from Río Negro Province in Argentina. The type and only species is Tralkasaurus cuyi, named in 2020 by Mauricio Cerroni and colleagues based on an incomplete skeleton. A medium-sized abelisaurid, Tralkasaurus exhibits a conflicting blend of characteristics found among the early-diverging abelisauroids with others that characterize the highly specialized clade Brachyrostra, and thus its position within the clade is poorly-resolved.
Elemgasem is an extinct genus of brachyrostran abelisaurid from the Late Cretaceous Portezuelo Formation of Patagonia, Argentina. The genus contains a single species, Elemgasem nubilis. The cladistic position of Elemgasem within Brachyrostra is uncertain, given that phylogenetic analyses recover it as either a sister taxon to Furileusauria or in several positions within this clade.
