Predatory dinosaur remains from Madagascar: Implications for the Cretaceous biogeography of Gondwana
Predatory dinosaur remains from Madagascar: Implications for the Cretaceous biogeography of Gondwana
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DOI：
10.1126/science.280.5366.1048
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发表时间：
1998-05-15
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Ravoavy, F
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Sampson, SD;Witmer, LM;Ravoavy, F
最近在马达加斯加晚白垩世发现的脊椎动物化石包括几个大型兽脚亚目恐龙的标本。其中一个标本包括一个几乎完整且保存精美的头骨，有增厚的充气鼻，一个中额角和顶骨上的背侧突起。这些新材料被分配给神秘的兽脚类动物组Abelisauridae的基础上，一些独特的功能。阿贝里龙科的化石仅限于冈瓦纳大陆的三块大陆：南美洲、马达加斯加和印度次大陆。这一分布与一个修正的古地理重建相一致，该重建假定这些大陆之间（通过南极洲）的长期联系，可能直到晚白垩世晚期。
Recent discoveries of fossil vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar include several specimens of a large theropod dinosaur. One specimen includes a nearly complete and exquisitely preserved skull with thickened pneumatic nasals, a median frontal horn, and a dorsal projection on the parietals. The new materials are assigned to the enigmatic theropod group Abelisauridae on the basis of a number of unique features. Fossil remains attributable to abelisaurids are restricted to three Gondwanan landmasses: South America, Madagascar, and the Indian subcontinent. This distribution is consistent with a revised paleogeographic reconstruction that posits prolonged links between these landmasses (via Antarctica), perhaps until late in the Late Cretaceous.