Cranial Anatomy of New Specimens of Saurornitholestes langstoni (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae) from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) of Alberta
Cranial Anatomy of New Specimens of Saurornitholestes langstoni (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae) from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) of Alberta
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DOI：
10.1002/ar.24241
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发表时间：
2019-09-09
影响因子：
2
通讯作者：
Evans, David C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Currie, Philip J.;Evans, David C.
驰龙科蜥鸟龙的正模标本是在1978年根据省立恐龙公园的一个个体的少于30块相关的颅骨和后颅骨而被描述的。在接下来的25年里，在阿尔伯塔和蒙大拿的坎帕尼亚（上白垩纪）地层中又发现了四具蜥鸟龙类的部分骨骼，尽管相当完整的骨骼仍然难以捉摸，而且对头骨几乎一无所知。缺乏真正的诊断材料一直是个问题，而蜥鸟龙类与其他驰龙科的关系也很难解决，因为对它的解剖学知识不完整。在2014年，一具几乎完整的骨骼，包括头骨，在距离发现正模标本的地方不到一公里的地方被收集到。虽然与速龙的体型相似，但头骨的面部区域相对较短，较高，较宽。鼻骨是充气的。前上颌骨牙齿是独特的，以前在恐龙公园组中被鉴定为Zapsalis abradens的牙齿现在可以被鉴定为S的第二个前上颌骨牙齿。langstoni形态和磨损模式表明，这些可能是专门为梳理羽毛。许多特征定义了一个坎帕尼亚的北美分支，Saurornitholestinae，与包括Velociraptorinae（Velociraptorinae）的亚洲分支不同。这一头骨上的新信息可以更完整地评估其在驰龙科中的系统位置，并支持白垩纪期间亚洲和北美之间至少有两个主要动物群交换的建议。Anat Rec，2019年。(c)2019年美国解剖学协会
The holotype of the dromaeosaurid Saurornitholestes langstoni was described in 1978 on the basis of fewer than 30 associated cranial and postcranial bones of a single individual from Dinosaur Provincial Park. Four additional partial skeletons of Saurornitholestes were recovered from Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) beds of Alberta and Montana over the next 25 years, although reasonably complete skeletons remained elusive, and virtually nothing was known about the skull. The lack of truly diagnostic material has been problematic, and the relationships of Saurornitholestes to other dromaeosaurids have been difficult to resolve because of the incomplete knowledge of its anatomy. In 2014, an almost complete skeleton, including the skull, was collected less than a kilometer from where the holotype had been found. Although similar in body size to Velociraptor, the facial region of the skull is relatively shorter, taller, and wider. The nasals are pneumatic. The premaxillary teeth are distinctive, and teeth previously identified in the Dinosaur Park Formation as Zapsalis abradens can now be identified as the second premaxillary tooth of S. langstoni. Morphology and wear patterns suggest that these may have been specialized for preening feathers. Many traits define a Campanian North American clade, Saurornitholestinae, that is distinct from an Asian clade that includes Velociraptor (Velociraptorinae). This new information on the skull allows a more complete evaluation of its systematic position within the Dromaeosauridae and supports the suggestion of at least two major faunal interchanges between Asia and North America during the Cretaceous. Anat Rec, 2019. (c) 2019 American Association for Anatomy