Aerosteon
| Aerosteon | ||||||||||||
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Outline reconstruction , type and location of the fragments of Aerosteon riocoloradensis found |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Upper Cretaceous ( Santonium ) | ||||||||||||
| 86.3 to 83.6 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Aerosteon | ||||||||||||
| Sereno et al. , 2008 |
Aerosteon ( Gr . Aeros "air", osteon "bone") is a genus of theropod dinosaur (Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of South America.
The fossil remains of this dinosaur were found in Argentina in 1996 in the province of Mendoza about one kilometer north of the Río Colorado and in 2008 by Paul Sereno et al. described . Only the type species A. riocoloradensis is known, the epithet of which refers to the place of discovery.
features
Aerosteon was a nine meter long theropod that lived about 86 to 84 million years ago during the Upper Cretaceous ( Santonium ). Like all theropods, it moved biped (two-legged) and ate meat. The fossil remains found include a single tooth, some skull bones, some partially or completely preserved vertebrae of the neck, back and sacrum , ribs , abdominal ribs (gastralia), wishbone , the left iliac bone and the left and right pubic bones . The bones show that the animal was not yet fully grown. Some of the bones, including the wishbone and iliac bone, were pneumatized and show evidence of breathing similar to that of birds.
Sereno assumes that the airbag system was initially developed to regulate body temperature ( thermoregulation ) and was later adopted and further developed for breathing ( birds' breathing mechanics ).
Systematics
Aerosteon probably did not belong to one of the dinosaur groups native to the southern continents ( Abelisauridae , Carcharodontosauridae , Spinosauridae ). He may belong to a new group or be a surviving basal tetanure . Sereno suggested a relationship with the Allosauroidea of the Jura .
literature
- Paul C. Sereno , Ricardo N. Martinez, Jeffrey A. Wilson, David J. Varricchio, Oscar A. Alcober, Hans CE Larsson: Evidence for Avian Intrathoracic Air Sacs in a New Predatory Dinosaur from Argentina. In: PLoS ONE . Vol. 3, No. 9, 2008, e3303, doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0003303 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , p. 99, online .
