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Right postorbital (holotype) of Taurovenator violentei gen. et sp. nov. interpretive drawing. A, lateral view; B, medial view; C, posterior view; D, dorsal view; E, anterior view. Scale bar: 3 cm.
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The present contribution describes theropod remains coming from the Huincul Formation (Neuquén Group; Cenomanian-Turonian; Upper Cretaceous) at a single locality located in northwestern Río Negro province, Patagonia, Argentina. This theropod association is composed of abelisauroids, two different-sized carcharodontosaurid allosauroids, a coelurosau...
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... brow of Taurovenator expands ventrally and is medially directed surrounding the orbit. This feature is present in Taurovenator, Acrocanthosaurus, and Mapusaurus (Coria and Currie, 2006). In other allosauroids, such as Allosaurus or Sinraptor, this feature is absent, whereas in Eocarcharia the brow expands ventrally but does not surround the orbit (Figs. ...
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... material: MPCA-Pv 806/1-806/11, associated individual composed of three incomplete caudal vertebral centra (806/1-3), incomplete anterior cervical vertebra (806/4), incomplete distal caudal vertebra (806/5), incomplete distal metapodial (806/6), incomplete proximal ungual phalanges of the hand (806/7-8) ( Figure 15). Description and comparisons: The specimen (Fig. 16) represent a single individual of small-sized coelurosaur having notably slender proportions. ...
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... be better interpreted as caudal elements), a neural arch, three sacral centra, pubes and a proximal ischium (all illustrated and described by Stromer, 1934, but lost during the Second World War). The remaining specimens were referred by Sereno et al. (1996) to Deltadromeus, including pubes, femur, fibula, and proximal tibia (Stromer, 1922, pl. 2, figs. 4,15; pl. 3, figs. 3,5,6). In spite of noticing minor differences between both taxa, Sereno et al. (1996) did not deny the close similarities between the materials of Deltadromeus and Bahariasaurus, as originally pointed out by Stromer (1934Stromer ( , ...
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Saltasaurine titanosaurs are characterized by their relatively small size compared to other sauropods, extreme postcranial pneumaticity, and dermal armour covering the body. This group has been reported in the Upper Cretaceous of the Lecho, Allen, and Anacleto formations of Argentina. We describe here a new saltasaurine specimen (MACN-Pv RN 233) fr...
Citations
... Carcharodontosaurids are characterized by large, ornamented skulls armed with long, fang-like teeth, large body sizes, and reduced forelimbs (Sereno et al. 1996;Sereno and Brusatte 2008;Canale et al. 2022). They include diverse species from Africa (Stromer 1931;Sereno et al. 1996;Sereno and Brusatte 2008), South America (Coria and Salgado 1995;Novas et al. 2005;Coria and Currie 2006;Motta et al. 2016;Coria et al. 2020;Canale et al. 2022), Europe Ortega et al. 2010;Malafaia et al. 2019), North America (Stovall and Langston 1950;Harris 1998;Eddy and Clarke 2011), and presumably Asia (Brusatte et al. 2010;Chokchaloemwong et al. 2019), with a biochron spanning from Valanginian (or Upper Jurassic if we count Veterupristisaurus from Tanzania; Rauhut, 2011) through early Turonian times. South America yielded remains of six carcharodontosaurid species: Lajasvenator ascheriae (Valanginian; Coria et al. 2020), Tyrannotitan chubutensis (Albian; Novas et al. 2005), the Cenomanian (Garrido, 2010), Giganotosaurus carolinii Communicated by: Rodrigo Temp Müller (Coria and Salgado 1995), Mapusaurus roseae (Coria and Currie 2006), Taurovenator violantei (Motta et al. 2016), and Meraxes gigas (Canale et al. 2022). ...
... They include diverse species from Africa (Stromer 1931;Sereno et al. 1996;Sereno and Brusatte 2008), South America (Coria and Salgado 1995;Novas et al. 2005;Coria and Currie 2006;Motta et al. 2016;Coria et al. 2020;Canale et al. 2022), Europe Ortega et al. 2010;Malafaia et al. 2019), North America (Stovall and Langston 1950;Harris 1998;Eddy and Clarke 2011), and presumably Asia (Brusatte et al. 2010;Chokchaloemwong et al. 2019), with a biochron spanning from Valanginian (or Upper Jurassic if we count Veterupristisaurus from Tanzania; Rauhut, 2011) through early Turonian times. South America yielded remains of six carcharodontosaurid species: Lajasvenator ascheriae (Valanginian; Coria et al. 2020), Tyrannotitan chubutensis (Albian; Novas et al. 2005), the Cenomanian (Garrido, 2010), Giganotosaurus carolinii Communicated by: Rodrigo Temp Müller (Coria and Salgado 1995), Mapusaurus roseae (Coria and Currie 2006), Taurovenator violantei (Motta et al. 2016), and Meraxes gigas (Canale et al. 2022). Taurovenator violantei was described by Motta et al. (2016) based on an isolated postorbital bone (MPCA PV 802), but recent excavations in the same beds and locality resulted in the discovery of a partial skeleton that we refer to this species. ...
... South America yielded remains of six carcharodontosaurid species: Lajasvenator ascheriae (Valanginian; Coria et al. 2020), Tyrannotitan chubutensis (Albian; Novas et al. 2005), the Cenomanian (Garrido, 2010), Giganotosaurus carolinii Communicated by: Rodrigo Temp Müller (Coria and Salgado 1995), Mapusaurus roseae (Coria and Currie 2006), Taurovenator violantei (Motta et al. 2016), and Meraxes gigas (Canale et al. 2022). Taurovenator violantei was described by Motta et al. (2016) based on an isolated postorbital bone (MPCA PV 802), but recent excavations in the same beds and locality resulted in the discovery of a partial skeleton that we refer to this species. The new specimen includes several parts of the skeleton that were previously poorly known in other South American carcharodontosaurids, especially the neck and manus. ...
Carcharodontosaurids were gigantic terrestrial dinosaurs and top predators of dinosaur faunas in Gondwanan landmasses during the “Mid”-Cretaceous Period. Despite their wide geographical and stratigraphical distribution, essential parts of their anatomy are still poorly known. The present contribution aims to describe a new partial skeleton of the carcharodontosaurid Taurovenator violantei, which was previously known only by an isolated postorbital bone coming from Cenomanian–Turonian beds of northern Patagonia, Argentina. The neck of Taurovenator is composed of notably high anterior cervicals, bearing neural spines with expanded, flange-like dorsal tips which are successively imbricated. This condition has been reported previously in the carcharodontosaurid Acrocanthosaurus, but its occurrence in Taurovenator and other members of the clade suggests it may represent a synapomorphy of this theropod family. This unique neck morphology was probably related to strong modifications in musculature and restriction in the range of movements within the neck, but not with the head. The new specimen also affords valuable anatomical information on the forelimb of Patagonian carcharodontosaurids. As in other giganotosaurines, Taurovenator shows strongly reduced forelimbs, particularly the forearm, showing hand elements with elongated non-ungual phalanges, and well-marked articular surfaces and muscular insertions, suggesting highly movable digits. This new specimen of Taurovenator allows us to expand anatomical and morpho-functional discussions about the carcharodontosaurid clade.
... Moreover, a paravian recently described from the Cenomanian-Turonian Huincul Formation, Overoraptor chimentoi, was recovered as the sister taxon of Rahonavis, though neither taxon was regarded as a member of Unenlagiinae by the describers of the former [24]. Other fragmentary possible Argentinian unenlagiine records have been reported from the Huincul [25] and the Coniacian-Santonian Plottier [26] formations of the Neuquén Basin, the Campanian-Maastrichtian Chorrillo Formation of the Austral-Magallanes Basin of southern Patagonia [27], and the Campanian or Maastrichtian Los Blanquitos Formation of Salta Province in northwestern Argentina (Unquillosaurus ceibalii [17,28,29]). Here we describe Diuqin lechiguanae gen. ...
Unenlagiine paravians are among the most relevant Gondwanan theropod dinosaur clades for understanding the origin of birds, yet their fossil record remains incomplete, with most taxa being represented by fragmentary material and/or separated by lengthy temporal gaps, frustrating attempts to characterize unenlagiine evolution. Here we describe Diuqin lechiguanae gen. et sp. nov., a new unenlagiine taxon from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Bajo de la Carpa Formation of the Neuquén Basin of Neuquén Province in northern Patagonia, Argentina that fills a substantial stratigraphic gap in the fossil record of these theropods. Although known only from a very incomplete postcranial skeleton, the preserved bones of Diuqin differ from corresponding elements in other unenlagiines, justifying the erection of the new taxon. Moreover, in several morphological aspects, the humerus of Diuqin appears intermediate between those of geologically older unenlagiines from the Neuquén Basin (e.g., Unenlagia spp. from the Turonian–Coniacian Portezuelo Formation) and that of the stratigraphically younger, larger-bodied Austroraptor cabazai from the Campanian–Maastrichtian Allen Formation. Consequently, the morphology of the new taxon appears to indicate a transitional stage in unenlagiine evolution. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Diuqin as a paravian with multiple plausible systematic positions, but the strongest affinity is with Unenlagiinae. The humerus of the new form exhibits subcircular punctures near its distal end that are interpreted as feeding traces most likely left by a conical-toothed crocodyliform, mammal, or theropod, the latter potentially corresponding to a megaraptorid or another unenlagiine individual. Thus, in addition to filling important morphological and temporal gaps in unenlagiine evolutionary history, the new taxon also offers information relating to the paleoecology of these theropods.
... The group achieved a wide distribution during the 'Middle' Cretaceous (Aptian-Cenomanian), from which most of the fossil record of this group comes and is considered extinct before the Turonian interval. The carcharodontosaurian record spans North America (Stovall and Langston 1950), Asia (Brusatte et al. 2009;Chokchaloemwong et al. 2019), Europe (Ortega et al. 2010), Africa (Sereno et al. 1996;Sereno and Brusatte 2008;Cau et al. 2013;Evers et al. 2015), and South America (Coria and Salgado 1995;Novas et al. 2005;Coria and Currie 2006;Canale et al. 2015;Motta et al. 2016;Coria et al. 2020). Oldest carcharodontosaurian occurrences are dated back to the Jurassic and include isolated teeth from China (Han et al. 2011) and Germany (Gerke et al. 2016), Veterupristisaurus milneri from Tanzania (Rauhut 2011;Carrano et al. 2012), Lusovenator santosi from Portugal (Malafaia et al. 2020), and an unnamed taxon from the Sergi Formation of Brazil , which suggests that its diversification is related to the Pangean fragmentation (Sereno and Brusatte 2008). ...
Supposed dinosaur remains were collected between 1859 and 1906 in the Lower Cretaceous Recôncavo Basin (Northeast Brazil). Since these materials remained undescribed, and most were considered lost. Recently, some of these historical specimens were rediscovered in the Natural History Museum of London, providing an opportunity to revisit them after 160 years. The specimens come from five different sites, corresponding to the Massacará (Berriasian-Barremian) and Ilhas (Valanginian-Barremian) groups. Identified bones comprise mainly isolated vertebral centra from ornithopods, sauropods, and theropods. Appendicular remains include a theropod pedal phalanx, humerus, and distal half of a left femur with elasmarian affinities. Despite their fragmentary nature, these specimens represent the earliest dinosaur bones discovered in South America, enhancing our understanding of the Cretaceous dinosaur faunas in Northeast Brazil. The dinosaur assemblage in the Recôncavo Basin resembles coeval units in Northeast Brazil, such as the Rio do Peixe Basin, where ornithopods coexist with sauropods and theropods. This study confirms the presence of ornithischian dinosaurs in Brazil based on osteological evidence, expanding their biogeographic and temporal range before the continental rifting between South America and Africa. Additionally, these findings reinforce the fossiliferous potential of Cretaceous deposits in Bahia State, which have been underexplored since their initial discoveries.
... The Huincul Formation (Neuqu en Group; Cenomanian-Turonian; Garrido, 2010) yields one of the most diverse vertebrate assemblages, including fishes, turtles, crocodiles, and dinosaurs (Leanza et al., 2004;Garrido, 2010;Motta et al., 2018b). Regarding dinosaurs, saurischians are dominant (Leanza et al., 2004;Novas et al., 2013;Motta et al., 2016), counting with many species of sauropods (e.g. Bonaparte & Coria, 1993;Gallina & Apesteguía, 2005;Agnolín et al., 2023) and theropods (e.g. ...
... Bonaparte & Coria, 1993;Gallina & Apesteguía, 2005;Agnolín et al., 2023) and theropods (e.g. Coria & Salgado, 1998;Coria & Currie, 2006;Canale et al., 2009Canale et al., , 2022Apesteguía et al., 2016;Motta et al., 2016Motta et al., , 2020. On the other hand, ornithischian remains from Huincul Formation are only represented by an isolated ungual phalanx of an indeterminate ornithopod (Canudo et al., 2013). ...
... The Huincul Formation is composed of yellowish and greenish fineto medium-grained sandstones that can sometimes be tuffaceous (Leanza et al., 2004). Its fossil vertebrate content is diverse and consists on turtles, crocodiles, and fish (Garrido, 2010), and abundant dinosaur remains (Bonaparte & Coria, 1993;Coria & Salgado, 1998;Gallina & Apesteguía, 2005;Coria & Currie, 2006;Canale et al., 2009;Motta et al., 2016). ...
... The original diagnosis established by Coria, Chiappe & Dingus (2002) was largely based on morphological comparisons with Carnotaurus and mentioning only one autapomorphy (i.e., anterior haemal arches with proximally opened neural canal). Here, we expand the diagnosis to include the following unique features of the axial skeleton: (1) atlas with a subcircular articular surface; (2) interspinous accessory processes extended to sacral and caudal neural spine; (3) presence of a tubercle lateral to the prezygapophysis of mid caudal vertebrae (a similar structure is mentioned in Aoniraptor; Motta et al., 2016); (4) presence of pneumatic foramina laterally to the base of the neural spine in the anterior caudal vertebrae; (5) presence of a prominent tubercle and extensive rugosity on the lateral rim of the transverse processes of caudal vertebrae fourth to twelfth; (6) presence of a small ligamental scar near the anterior edge of the dorsal surface in the anteriormost caudal transverse processes; (7) distinct triangular process located at the fusion point of posterior middle gastralia. In addition, according to Coria, Chiappe & Dingus (2002), the skull of Aucasaurus differs from that of Carnotaurus sastrei in having a longer and lower rostrum, frontal swells instead of horns, and a sigmoidal outline of the dentigerous margin of the maxilla. ...
... Moreover, it has a rugose protuberance directed dorsolaterally. A similar structure is also present in the megaraptoran Aoniraptor (Motta et al., 2016). The transverse process of the twelfth caudal vertebra is almost identical, in shape and morphology, to the previous vertebra. ...
... A tubercle lateral to the prezygapophysis of middle and posterior caudal vertebrae (Fig. 29): The presence of a rough tubercle on the lateral surface of the prezygapophysis of the middle and posterior caudal vertebrae is absent in other abelisaurids that preserved elements of this section of the tail (Fig. 29G). Motta et al. (2016) mentioned the presence of a low swelling on the lateral prezygapophysis for the megaraptoran Aoniraptor. Some tyrannosaurids, such as Alioramus, Tarbosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus, have a bulge on the ventral side of the prezygapophysis (Fig. 29H) of the posterior caudal vertebrae (Brusatte, Carr & Norell, 2012), which is different from Aucasaurus. ...
Aucasaurus garridoi is an abelisaurid theropod from the Anacleto Formation (lower Campanian, Upper Cretaceous) of Patagonia, Argentina. The holotype of Aucasaurus garridoi includes cranial material, axial elements, and almost complete fore- and hind limbs. Here we present a detailed description of the axial skeleton of this taxon, along with some paleobiological and phylogenetic inferences. The presacral elements are somewhat fragmentary, although these show features shared with other abelisaurids. The caudal series, to date the most complete among brachyrostran abelisaurids, shows several autapomorphic features including the
presence of pneumatic recesses on the dorsal surface of the anterior caudal neural arches, a tubercle lateral to the prezygapophysis of mid caudal vertebrae, a marked protuberance on the lateral rim of the transverse process of the caudal vertebrae, and the presence of a small ligamentous scar near the anterior edge of the dorsal surface in the anteriormost caudal transverse process. The detailed study of the axial skeleton of Aucasaurus garridoi has also allowed us to identify characters that could be useful for future studies attempting to resolve the internal phylogenetic relationships of Abelisauridae. Computed tomography scans of some caudal vertebrae show pneumatic traits in neural arches and centra, and thus the first reported case for an abelisaurid taxon. Moreover, some osteological correlates of soft tissues present in Aucasaurus and other abelisaurids, especially derived brachyrostrans, underscore a previously proposed increase in axial rigidity within Abelisauridae.
... Deltadromeus in turn has been classified as a basal coelurosaur (Sereno et al., 1996), as being closely related to ornithomimosaurs (Rauhut, 2003), as a noasaurid (Sereno et al., 2004), a basal ceratosaur (Carrano & Sampson, 2008;Chiarenza & Cau, 2016) or a neovenatorid, and thus closely related to Carcharodontosaurus (Apesteguía et al., 2016). In yet another recent study, Bahariasaurus was considered as a valid taxon distinct from Deltadromeus, but closely related to the latter and both, together with Aoniraptor from South America, forming the Bahariasauridae, a family (originally coined by von Huene, 1948) of megaraptoran theropods (Motta et al., 2016). Therefore, at least three, but possibly five (if Bahariasaurus and Deltadromeus as well as S. aegyptiacus and 'Spinosaurus B' are indeed distinct), different large-bodied theropods were likely present in the Bahariya faunal assemblage. ...
Egypt has yielded some of the richest and most spectacular records of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from Africa. Certainly, the best-known and most diverse of these are the vertebrate assemblages of the Upper Cretaceous Bahariya Formation (Cenomanian), which includes numerous different taxa of fishes, abundant remains of turtles and crocodyliforms, as well as several different theropod and sauropod dinosaurs. Originally discovered early in the twentieth century by famous German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach and fossil collector Richard Markgraf, most of the material has subsequently been destroyed during the Second World War. Aside from the high diversity, the Bahariya Formation also yielded some of the most bizarre and iconic dinosaurs such as the giant theropods Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus or the enormous sauropod Paralititan. Although the Bahariya Oasis has yielded by far the most diverse and extensive remains of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from Egypt, other localities from the Turonian, Campanian and Maastrichtian offer additional important—albeit much less complete—insights into the composition and evolution of African Late Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems. Some of these assemblages, especially the latest Cretaceous Quseir Formation, have just begun to reveal the richness and diversity of their vertebrate fauna, often with spectacular results, and certainly have the potential to yield further significant insights into the evolution of the Cretaceous life on land. In this chapter, we provide a summary of the terrestrial Mesozoic vertebrate record of Egypt and thus an overview of these remarkable dinosaur faunas.KeywordsEgyptDinosauriaCrocodyliformesTestudinataBahariya FormationQuseir Formation
... This Formation is composed of partially tuffaceous yellowish and greenish fine-to medium-grained sandstones (Leanza et al., 2004). Vertebrate remains from the Pueblo Blanco Natural Reserve include sphenodontian lizards, freshwater turtles, neosuchian crocodiles and lepisosteid fishes (Apesteguía et al., 2016;Motta et al., 2016Motta et al., , 2018Gentil et al., 2019). F.L. Agnolin, B.J. Gonzalez Riga, A.M. Aranciaga Rolando et al. ...
... F.L. Agnolin, B.J. Gonzalez Riga, A.M. Aranciaga Rolando et al. Cretaceous Research 146 (2023) 105487 Dinosaurs are represented by indeterminate small to medium sized titanosaurian sauropods, elasmarian ornithopods and diverse theropods including carcharodontosaurids, unenlagiids and abelisaurids (Motta et al., 2016(Motta et al., , 2018. The possible megaraptorans Gualicho shinyae and Aoniraptor libertatem, as well as the carcharodontosaurid Taurovenator violentei; the paravian Overoraptor chimentoi, and the abelisarid Tralkasaurus cuyi were described from the site (Apesteguía et al., 2016;Motta et al., 2016Motta et al., , 2020Cerroni et al., 2020). ...
... Cretaceous Research 146 (2023) 105487 Dinosaurs are represented by indeterminate small to medium sized titanosaurian sauropods, elasmarian ornithopods and diverse theropods including carcharodontosaurids, unenlagiids and abelisaurids (Motta et al., 2016(Motta et al., , 2018. The possible megaraptorans Gualicho shinyae and Aoniraptor libertatem, as well as the carcharodontosaurid Taurovenator violentei; the paravian Overoraptor chimentoi, and the abelisarid Tralkasaurus cuyi were described from the site (Apesteguía et al., 2016;Motta et al., 2016Motta et al., , 2020Cerroni et al., 2020). ...
... They have narrow teeth of variable labial-lingual compression and oval crosssection, with well-developed mesial and distal serrated carinae (Smith 2007;Delcourt et al. 2020). Megaraptora, on the other hand, have considerably smaller representativeness in the Bauru Basin, and its identification is still questioned by some authors (Motta et al. 2016;Delcourt and Iori 2018;Porfiri et al. 2018). The only records would be a caudal vertebra found in the SJRP Formation and another from the Uberaba Formation, identified as Megaraptora mainly due to its pneumaticity (Méndez et al. 2012;Martinelli et al. 2013). ...
By studying fossil bite traces, we can reconstruct the behaviour of extinct organisms and better understand past communities, environments, and ecosystems. In this paper, we analyse bite traces on a fragmented sauropod rib from the Upper Cretaceous of the Bauru Basin, southeastern Brazil. The fossil was collected in the Ibirá municipality, São Paulo State, in the strata of the São José do Rio Preto Formation (Santonian-?Maastrichtian). The analysed specimen displays nine tooth drag traces on its external surface, produced by
six or seven biting events. The traces consist of shallow linear grooves, with tapered ends and a serrated or smooth edge morphology. They can be classified as Linichnus serratus, Linichnus bromleyi, and Knethichnus parallelum and were produced by an organism with ziphodont dentition, probably an Abelisauridae. This work adds to the knowledge of the Bauru Basin palaeoecology and palaeobiology and expands the record of Mordichnia of Gondwana.
... Node names mostly follow Tortosa et al.[3] and Smyth et al.[41]; numerals in (b) are percentages of MPTs. Note that several recent works have regarded Camarillasaurus cirugedae and Deltadromeus agilis as members of Tetanurae rather than Ceratosauria; specifically, Samathi et al.[47] reappraised Camarillasaurus as a representative of Spinosauridae, and Apesteguía et al.[48] and Motta et al.[49] regarded Deltadromeus as a member of Bahariasauridae, a clade with potential affinities to Megaraptora. As such, we regard the phylogenetic positions of these two forms depicted above with caution. ...
Numerous non-avian theropod dinosaur fossils have been reported from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Bahariya Formation, Bahariya Oasis, Western Desert of Egypt, but unambiguous materials of Abelisauridae have yet to be documented. Here we report Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (MUVP) specimen 477, an isolated, well-preserved tenth cervical vertebra of a medium-sized abelisaurid from the Bahariya Formation. The new vertebra shows affinities with those of other Upper Cretaceous abelisaurids from Madagascar and South America, such as Majungasaurus crenatissimus , Carnotaurus sastrei , Viavenator exxoni and a generically indeterminate Patagonian specimen (Museo Padre Molina specimen 99). Phylogenetic analysis recovers the Bahariya form within Abelisauridae, either in a polytomy of all included abelisaurids (strict consensus tree) or as an early branching member of the otherwise South American clade Brachyrostra (50% majority rule consensus tree). MUVP 477, therefore, represents the first confirmed abelisaurid fossil from the Bahariya Formation and the oldest definitive record of the clade from Egypt and northeastern Africa more generally. The new vertebra demonstrates the wide geographical distribution of Abelisauridae across North Africa during the middle Cretaceous and augments the already extraordinarily diverse large-bodied theropod assemblage of the Bahariya Formation, a record that also includes representatives of Spinosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae and Bahariasauridae.
... Compared to the non-abelisauroid theropods know for the Bauru Basin, LPRP/USP L0020 lacks the pleurocoels of the middle and distal caudal centra of megaraptorans (Martinelli et al., 2013;Méndez et al., 2012). It also differs from the undetermined maniraptoriform DGM 930-R by lacking lateral foramina and having a flat ventral surface (Delcourt and Grillo, 2014) and from Unenlagiini middle caudal vertebrae by not having a very constricted and elongated centrum (Motta et al., 2016). ...
Abelisauridae is a diverse clade of theropod dinosaurs, geographically well-distributed especially in the southern continents during the Cretaceous. The record of abelisaurids in South America comes mainly from Patagonia, whereas in Brazil they are mostly represented by numerous dental crowns and isolated bones, with few formally named species, mostly coming from the Late Cretaceous beds of the Bauru Group. In this contribution, we describe a small abelisaurid mid-caudal vertebra (LPRP/USP L0020) from the Presidente Prudente Formation, Bauru Group. LPRP/USP L0020 bears several abelisaurid features, such as an almost flat ventral surface, a poorly constrict centrum, lack of pneumatization, and distally positioned transverse processes. Body length estimation suggest that LPRP/USP L0020 belonged to a roughly 3.4 m long adult animal, representing one of the smallest known abelisaurids. The discovery of LPRP/USP L0020 indicates that Late Cretaceous abelisaurids from central South America were more diverse in body size than previously known, and possibly as diverse as their Patagonian counterparts.
