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Giganotosaurus carolinii (CORIA & SALGADO, 1995) (MUCPv-95) anterior portion of the dentary. A-Medial view. B-Lateral view. Scale bar 10 cm.
Source publication
Giganotosaurus carolinii CORIA & SALGADO, 1995 (MUCPv-Ch1) is considered the largest theropod in the world. Here we describe a new specimen of G. carolinii. In spite of the fact that the material is fragmentary (just a partial dentary), it is very important for its size. Comparisons between this new material with that of the holotype shows that thi...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... is not well preserved in MUCPv- 95, but it is in the holotype. There, a flat articular sur- face can be observed, showing a rather subrectan- gular shape. The Meckelian channel is parallel to the ventral border (Fig. 4B, 5B). In its anterior portion it curves abruptly to the anteroventral border, where an anteroventral concavity is developed (Fig. 6A). This depression is present in MUCPv95 but not in MUCPv-Ch1. In dorsal view the dentary shows a wide curvature to the internal plane. This begins be- tween the 9 JD and the 10 JD alveolus and in regular shape reaches the symphysis region. This charac- ter, together with the reduced simphysis, suggest that both mandibles would build a ...
Citations
... Carcharodontosauria, one of several theropod groups that is widespread in mid-Cretaceous deposits of South America and Africa (Brusatte & Sereno, 2007;Calvo & Coria, 1998;Canale et al., 2015Canale et al., , 2022Cau et al., 2012;Coria & Currie, 2006;Coria et al., 2020;Coria & Salgado, 1995;Paterna & Cau, 2023;Russell, 1996;Sereno et al., 1996;Stromer, 1931), remains notably absent in mid-Cretaceous Australian biotas. Although some Early Cretaceous theropod specimens have been interpreted to belong to the carcharodontosaurian clade Neovenatoridae (Benson, Rich, et al., 2012), this is likely symptomatic of the cautious approach to classifying fragmentary material to lower-level clades employed by Benson, Rich et al. (2012), who at the time viewed Megaraptora as being nested within Neovenatoridae (Benson, Carrano, et al., 2010;Kotevski et al., 2024). ...
The Early Cretaceous non-avian theropod body fossil record of Victoria, Australia dominantly comprises
isolated dental and postcranial remains. Numerous specimens have been collected from both the upper Strzelecki
Group (upper Barremian–lower Aptian) and Eumeralla Formation (upper Aptian–lower Albian), yet theropod
diversity in each unit remains poorly resolved. In both deposits, specimens pertaining to Megaraptoridae—a clade
seemingly endemic to South America and Australia in the Cretaceous—are most frequently encountered. However,
evidence of other typically common Gondwanan theropod groups, including Abelisauridae and Carcharodontosauria,
has remained unknown. Herein, we describe five new theropod specimens: three tibiae, and two articulated caudal
vertebrae with haemal arches, from the upper Strzelecki Group; and a single tibia from the Eumeralla Formation.
Two of these tibiae—one each from the upper Strzelecki Group and the Eumeralla Formation—provide the first
evidence for Carcharodontosauria in Australia. Two megaraptorid specimens from the upper Strzelecki Group—a
tibia, and two caudal vertebrae with haemal arches—demonstrate that this clade had achieved large body size at the
time of its first appearance in the fossil record. A tibia from the upper Strzelecki Group is interpreted to represent
the Gondwanan dromaeosaur clade Unenlagiinae. Collectively, the new theropod remains described herein
strengthen the evidence for mid-Cretaceous faunal interchange between Australia and South America across
Antarctica, and highlight the presence of carcharodontosaurians and unenlagiines at high latitudes in the late Early
Cretaceous.
... In allosauroids, this feature is usually present in the rostral half of the alveolar series of both maxilla and dentary (e.g. Giganotosaurus, Figure 3 in Calvo and Coria 1998;Neovenator, plate 2 in Brusatte et al. 2008), and is associated with the rostromedial bowing of the cheek bone margin approaching the symphyseal region. It is noteworthy that the rostral half of an abelisaurid maxilla from the Kem Kem beds lacks this feature, and shows the mesiodistal axis of the rostral alveoli aligned with the main direction of the subcutaneous surface (Mahler 2005). ...
The ‘Kem Kem Compound Assemblage’ (KKCA) along the Algerian-Moroccan border is a series of fossiliferous localities, Cenomanian in age, particularly rich in large-bodied theropod dinosaurs. Two species of carcharodontosaurid allosauroids have been identified in these units, Carcharodontosaurus saharicus and Sauroniops pachytholus. Recently, the validity of the second species has been challenged, and all carcharodontosaurid material from the KKCA has been referred uniquely to the former species. Here, we describe a new theropod cranial material from the KKCA which is referred to Carcharodontosauridae, including one partial maxilla which shows a morphology distinct from that of C. saharicus. We review the arguments used to interpret Sauroniops holotype as an immature individual of Carcharodontosaurus and show that they were based on non-homologous comparisons and on the misinterpretation of the original description of S. pachytholus: The latter is confirmed to be a valid taxon, distinct from C. saharicus and with an inferred body size comparable to the largest carcharodontosaurids. The presence of more than one giant carcharodontosaurid species in the Cenomanian of Morocco recalls the carcharodontosaurid diversity from penecontemporary units from Argentina.
... This does not match with available epidermal correlation material, which indicates continuous soft tissue, perhaps a cornified pad, covering the dorsal and lateral parts of the nasal (Witton, 2022). The dentary was straight and featureless at the posterior end, unlike preserved material which presents a downward projection (Calvo & Coria, 1998). ...
... Carcharodontosauridae Stromer, 1931. When more complete cranial material of the African genus Carcharodontosaurus came to light from the Douira Formation, Sereno et al. (1996) recognized carcharodontosaurids as a global Cretaceous-age radiation of distinctive allosauroid theropods, including the closely related South American genus Giganotosaurus Salgado 1995, Calvo andCoria 1998) and the somewhat older North American genus Acrocanthosaurus (Harris 1998, Currie andCarpenter 2000). Since then a large amount of carcharodontosaurid fossil material has come to light. ...
The geological and paleoenvironmental setting and the vertebrate taxonomy of the fossiliferous, Cenomanian-age deltaic sediments in eastern Morocco, generally referred to as the “Kem Kem beds”, are reviewed. These strata are recognized here as the Kem Kem Group, which is composed of the lower Gara Sbaa and upper Douira formations. Both formations have yielded a similar fossil vertebrate assemblage of predominantly isolated elements pertaining to cartilaginous and bony fishes, turtles, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs, as well as invertebrate, plant, and trace fossils. These fossils, now in collections around the world, are reviewed and tabulated. The Kem Kem vertebrate fauna is biased toward largebodied carnivores including at least four large-bodied non-avian theropods (an abelisaurid, Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Deltadromeus), several large-bodied pterosaurs, and several large crocodyliforms.
No comparable modern terrestrial ecosystem exists with similar bias toward large-bodied carnivores. The Kem Kem vertebrate assemblage, currently the best documented association just prior to the onset of the Cenomanian-Turonian marine transgression, captures the taxonomic diversity of a widespread northern African fauna better than any other contemporary assemblage from elsewhere in Africa.
Keywords
Africa, Cretaceous, dinosaur, Gara Sbaa Formation, Douira Formation, paleoenvironment, vertebrate
... As such, it is likely that further sampling of these other giant theropods, all of which are represented by fewer specimens than T. rex, may yield larger individuals that match or surpass the size of RSM P2523.8. In the case of Giganotosaurus carolinii, a sing dentary is known that does hint at a greater maximum size (Calvo, 2000). ...
Here we describe an extremely large and relatively complete (roughly 65%) skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex (RSM P2523.8). Multiple measurements (including those of the skull, hip, and limbs) show that RSM P2523.8 was a robust individual with an estimated body mass exceeding all other known T. rex specimens and representatives of all other gigantic terrestrial theropods. Histological sampling of the fibula confirms that RSM P2523.8 is skeletally mature. The prevalence of incompletely coossified elements contradicts previous assertions that such unfused elements can be taken as indicators of somatic immaturity. As an extreme example of both ontogenetic maturity and osteological robustness, RSM P2523.8 offers support for prior hypotheses that a sampling bias occurs throughout the Dinosauria, making it likely that most taxa grew to significantly greater size than current known specimens indicate. Anat Rec, 303:656–672, 2020. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
... Patagopteryx_deferrariisi (Chiappe 1996) Giganotosaurus carolinii (Coria and Salgado 1995;Calvo and Coria 1998) Carcharadontosaurus saharicus (Sereno et al. 1996) Carcharadontosaurus iguidensis (Brusatte and Sereno 2007) Shaochilong maortuensis (Brusatte et al. , 2010b Eocarcharia dinops Datanglong guangxiensis No mandibular material ...
For years, palaeobiologists have studied the broad patterns of evolution simply by species counting. Now a revolution is underway, with richer data about novelties and their role in evolution being used. The diversity of form and function of organisms, their disparity, is studied in many different ways and using many very different methods. Disparity studies have become quite common, but few comparisons have been made between the different disparity metrics. Here we provide the first large scale test for congruence between three methods of capturing morphological disparity, discrete characters, morphometric outlines and geometric morphometric landmarks, using theropod mandibles as our case study. We find that all methods have a significant correlation with each other. The correlation is strongest between the two morphometric methods, showing r-values ranging between 0.69 and 0.81, and much weaker between the morphometric methods and the discrete characters, with r-values between 0.27 and 0.43. We also deduce macroevolutionary patterns from the disparity results, including but not limited to the Oviraptorosauria showing the highest disparity of all theropods, and disparity being lowest in the Late Triassic and highest in the Late Cretaceous, as might be expected within a long-term evolving and diversifying clade.
... Various descriptions used to describe grooves on the lateral surface of the dentary include "longitudinal groove that supports the nutritious foramina" (e.g. Calvo and Coria, 1998), "dentary sulcus" (e.g. Novas et al., 2005;Sampson and Witmer, 2007;Eddy and Clarke, 2011), "lateral ridge" with a "row of foramina above the ridge" (e.g. ...
This study examines the phylogenetic distribution of a morphologic character, described as a groove containing pores, on the lateral surface of the dentary bone in theropod dinosaurs. The nature of this groove is a feature unique to theropods. Of the 92 theropod taxa examined for the presence and absence of this feature, 48 possessed and 44 lacked this feature. Distribution of this character was compared to published phylogenetic analyses of theropods, in order to evaluate the utility of the dentary groove as a diagnostic feature. 80% of pre-Tyrannoraptoran theropods possessed the dentary groove, with only 6 reversals in basal theropod clades. Theropods with beaks or edentulous jaws all lacked a dentary groove. Tyrannosauroidea is marked by mosaic distribution of this character. Among tyrannosauroids, the dentary groove occurs only in Dryptosaurus and the Albertosaurinae (Albertosaurus + Gorgosaurus). Nanotyrannus lancensis, sometimes described as representing juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, also possesses this groove, unlike the remainder of the Tyrannosaurinae. Nanotyrannus lancensis was included in a phylogenetic analysis of Tyrannosauroidea and was recovered within Albertosaurinae. We recommend that Nanotyrannus stand as a valid taxon nested within the Albertosaurinae, based on the presence of this groove, as well as other features of the skull.
... It is thus reasonable to conclude that UAIC (SCM1) 615 belonged to a large-sized carcharodontosaurid, comparable to, even if somewhat smaller than, the truly gigantic carcharodontosaurines Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus (Sereno et al., 1996;Calvo and Coria, 1998;Therrien and Henderson, 2007), taxa that were recovered as possible close relatives of the Romanian carcharodontosaurid by our phylogenetic analysis. This, in turn, corroborates growing evidence that very large body size was acquired very early in carcharodontosaurid history, since the earliest potential members of the clade are already of relatively large size (Rauhut, 2011). ...
... During the AlbianeTuronian, carcharodontosaurids became especially abundant and diverse in Africa (Carcharodontosaurus, Sauroniops;Stromer, 1931;Sereno et al., 1996;Le Loeuff et al., 2012;Cau et al., 2013;Richter et al., 2013) and South America (Tyrannotitan, Giganotosautus, Mapusaurus, alongside with indeterminate carcharodontosaurids; Coria and Salgado, 1995;Calvo and Coria, 1998;Novas et al., 2005;Coria and Currie, 2006;Casal et al., 2009;Candeiro et al., 2011;Canale et al., 2015;Fig. 5B). ...
... Various descriptions used to describe grooves on the lateral surface of the dentary include "longitudinal groove that supports the nutritious foramina" (e.g. Calvo and Coria, 1998), "dentary sulcus" (e.g. Novas et al., 2005;Sampson and Witmer, 2007;Eddy and Clarke, 2011), "lateral ridge" with a "row of foramina above the ridge" (e.g. ...
The occurrence of a lateral groove in the dentary of theropod dinosaurs was argued to be a key diagnostic character for establishing the validity of Nanotyrannus lancensis as a unique taxon separate from Tyrannosaurus rex by Schmerge and Rothschild (2016). The validity of this distinction has been challenged in a comment paper by Brusatte et al. (in press). The main criticisms raised in this comment address the methodology of the original study, the distribution of the dentary groove in theropods, the possibility of ontogenetic variability in the occurrence of the dentary groove, and the application of phylogenetic analysis to studying character distributions. In this reply, we clarify the definition of the theropod dentary groove, elucidate the difference between a true dentary groove and the appearance of a false “pseudo-groove”, justify our original methodology with a discussion of the errors involved in identifying grooves by Brusatte et al. (in press), and support our original findings with descriptions of additional specimens. Investigation of additional specimens of Nanotyrannus, as well as critical examination of Tyrannosaurus specimens presented by Brusatte et al. (in press), reaffirm the result of our original study that Nanotyrannus can be differentiated from Tyrannosaurus based on the depth of its dentary groove, independent of ontogenetic stage. Despite any possible ontogenetic variation in the appearance of the dentary groove that can be interpreted, all specimens of Nanotyrannus possess distinct grooves whereas Tyrannosaurus lacks a groove. The most parsimonious explanation for the different appearance of these grooves is that Nanotyrannus does not represent a juvenile Tyrannosaurus.
... Comentarios-Las icnitas mencionadas conforman cerca del 80% de la icnofauna descrita para el Sitio III de Quebrada Chacarillas, siendo el 20% restante de ornitópodos (Rubilar-Rogers et al. 2008). Entre las dos morfologías descritas, el morfotipo B incluye huellas de un tamaño de 60 cm, comparable en tamaño con los restos óseos de Carcharodontosauridae conocidos para el Aptiano-Coniaciano de Argentina (Coria y Salgado 1995, Calvo y Coria, 1998Novas et al. 2005, Coria y Currie 2006, lo que las convierte en una de las improntas más grandes conocidas para Sudamérica. ...
Por décadas, el registro fósil de vertebrados en Chile fue exiguo, restringido a pocos hallazgos, muchos de ellos fortuitos. En contraposición a esta situación, grandes figuras de la ciencia, entre ellos Charles Darwin, Rudolph Philippi y Claude Gay, entre otros, notaron tempranamente el valor de este registro, a la vez que dieron a conocer desde el siglo XIX restos de vertebrados fósiles hallados en este exótico rincón llamado Chile. Esto no es una mera coincidencia, dado que a través de la historia geológica de nuestro planeta, Chile ha sido en forma relativamente persistente, el territorio que conformó el margen suroccidental de Pangea, luego de Gondwana, y finalmente de Sudamérica. Debido a esto, los depósitos sedimentarios que se encuentran en el país albergan evidencia fundamental para comprender la evolución de las biotas de vertebrados marinos del antiguo Panthalassa y posteriormente del Océano Pacífico. Esta evidencia es de alta relevancia para comprender los cambios experimentados por dicha fauna en este margen del planeta a través del tiempo, considerando que América del Sur fue antiguamente parte de un mega-continente, posteriormente una isla, y finalmente una gran masa escasamente conectada con Norteamérica a través un puente continental. A lo anterior se suma el “reciente” alzamiento de la Cordillera de Los Andes y la conformación de desiertos durante el Pleistoceno, lo que ha ocasionado que nuestra actual fauna de vertebrados sea bastante divergente de las formas que antiguamente habitaron Chile.
En este sentido, la presente publicación busca entregar al lector un acercamiento sintético sobre las formas de vertebrados que habitaron nuestro país durante su pasado geológico, mostrando una fauna muchas veces insospechada, la que existió en los mismos lugares comunes en donde hoy habitamos, y cuya real diversidad comienza a develarse paulatinamente en la medida que prosiguen las investigaciones sobre vertebrados fósiles. Esta publicación es una revisión general de los principales grupos animales que conforman el patrimonio paleontológico de vertebrados a nivel nacional. Cada capítulo fue realizado por especialistas nacionales e internacionales en los diferentes grupos taxonómicos en los que fue dividido este libro, y elaborado de manera tal que permita un fácil entendimiento de la distribución geográfica, temporal, y los taxa representados para cada uno de los grupos tratados.
Para algunos lectores el resultado de esta compilación será un poco asimétrica debido a que no todos los grupos tienen, por ahora, una gran representatividad en el registro fósil en Chile o, en otros, no se cuenta con todos los especialistas específicos de ciertos taxa, lo que se traduce en pocos datos sobre estos grupos animales. Es precisamente por estos ‘vacíos’ de información que la continuidad de las investigaciones sobre los vertebrados fósiles de Chile es de alta importancia.
Resulta interesante generar una retrospectiva. Desde los años 60-70’s, cuando el destacado paleontólogo argentino Rodolfo Casamiquela realizó una serie de importantes contribuciones, que no se vivía un repunte en la paleontología de vertebrados, no sólo en publicaciones, sino además, de investigadores chilenos y residentes en Chile. La investigación paleontológica en Chile se había centrado fundamentalmente en estudios estratigráficos y paleoambientales, que prefieren el estudio de fósiles numerosos, pequeños, y fáciles de recolectar, como los microfósiles (foraminíferos, palinomorfos), plantas, e invertebrados. Esto incluso llevó a una especie de mito implícito en la cultura nacional, de que “los vertebrados no sirven”. Sin embargo, no por ser más difíciles de recolectar y/o identificar, los restos de vertebrados son menos informativos para estas materias, como queda bien establecido en el presente libro. Actualmente, se ha generado una escuela de investigadores en Chile con los conocimientos de morfología y sistemática de vertebrados fósiles necesarios para determinarlos, estudiarlos, y reconocer sus implicaciones para éstas y otras áreas, incluyendo morfología, paleobiología, y evolución. Hace un par de décadas, estudiar los vertebrados fósiles siempre requería de colaboraciones con investigadores residentes en el extranjero. Otra notable diferencia está dada por el contundente impacto social que han significado los vertebrados fósiles en términos patrimoniales, museográficos, y mediáticos, un desarrollo notable que promete un “nuevo trato” para la paleontología en Chile.
Debido a que el conocimiento de los vertebrados fósiles de Chile sigue creciendo vertiginosamente, es que creemos que este proyecto no se detendrá aquí y nos veremos ciertamente en la necesidad de ir
actualizando este registro de manera de ir entregando, a la comunidad científica e interesados no académicos, datos actualizados de la historia paleontológica de Chile.
Por ahora el libro incluye el registro fósiles de peces divididos en cartilaginosos y óseos; tetrápodos basales y anfibios; reptiles, estos divididos en ictiosaurios, tortugas, plesiosaurios y arcosaurios no avianos (decidimos dejar las aves como grupos separado para facilitar la lectura); y mamíferos fósiles abordando su registro pre-Pleistocénico, Pleistocénico y mamíferos marinos agrupados en cetáceos y no cetáceos.
Llevar a cabo este trabajo no fue fácil. Aquí se reúnen décadas de investigaciones a cargo de diferentes actores del quehacer paleontológico nacional, investigaciones que gracias a la buena voluntad y colaboración de cada una de las personas involucradas, ha quedado finalmente plasmado en cada respectivo capítulo de este libro. Este minucioso trabajo de recopilación de parte de todos los especialistas ha sido finalmente aunado en la compilación de este material.
Agradecemos al Director del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Sr. Claudio Gómez y a la ex curadora Jefe de la misma institución, Rocío Jaña por el apoyo brindado para publicar este documento a través de la publicación ocasional del museo. Agradecemos especialmente el Editor de las publicaciones científicas del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Herman Núñez por su inagotable entusiasmo, apoyo y profesionalismo al trabajar en la edición general de esta publicación. También queremos extender nuestros más sinceros agradecimientos al paleontólogo Sergio Soto Acuña quien desinteresadamente apoyo el trabajo editorial y revisó minuciosamente diferentes capítulos del libro.
Esperamos que este volumen sea un estímulo para la continuación de las investigaciones sobre paleontología de vertebrados en Chile, e inspire a nuevas generaciones de profesionales a dedicarse a la paleontología de vertebrados y, en especial, a crear y conducir líneas de investigación de las que se obtenga información de grupos menos representados para conocer con más detalle la historia natural de Chile.
