Rodolfo A. CoriaNational Scientific and Technical Research Council | conicet
Rodolfo A. Coria
PhD
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Publications (161)
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 p...
Malafaia, E.; Coria, R.A.; Escaso, F.; Ortega, F. 2023. Abelisaurid teeth from the Upper Cretaceous of Poyos (Guadalajara, Spain). In: Alba, D.M.; Marigó, J.; Nacarino-Meneses, C.; Villa, A. (Eds.) Palaeovertebrata, Special Volume 1-23, p. 155. 20th EAVP Conference. Sabadell, Spain.
In amniotes, the predominant developmental strategy underlying body size evolution is thought to be adjustments to the rate of growth rather than its duration. However, most theoretical and experimental studies supporting this axiom focus on pairwise comparisons and/or lack an explicit phylogenetic framework. We present the first large-scale phylog...
The Lo Hueco fossil site (Cuenca, Spain) is one of the most relevant localities for the study of Late Cretaceous continental vertebrate faunas from Europe. The fossil record of theropod dinosaurs from this locality is represented by scarce isolated postcranial materials that were preliminarily attributed to abelisaurids and to a possible giant bird...
The osteology of Pilmatueia faundezi Coria, Windholz, Ortega & Currie, 2019, a dicraeosaurid sauropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Patagonia, is reassessed from the perspective of a new specimen (MLL-Pv-010) that provides additional information on the axial skeleton and the pectoral girdle. The specimen MLL-Pv-010 is composed of three articulated a...
Skeletal pneumaticity implies bone invasion via air sacs that are diverticula of the respiratory system. Among extant vertebrates, this feature is found only in birds, and in extinct taxa it occurs in saurischian dinosaurs and pterosaurs. The sauropod axial skeleton is characterized by having a complex architecture of laminae and fossae that have u...
The Lohan Cura Formation (Albian) at the Cerro de los Leones locality (Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina) yielded several fossil materials, especially sauropod specimens. Among these, Agustinia ligabuei includes postcranial elements of a single individual, with widely debated taxonomy and phylogeny. Here, we provide an extended osteological de...
Abelisaurids are medium–large-sized theropod dinosaurs that were predominant in the carnivorous fauna during the Late Cretaceous of Gondwana. These predators are abundant in the Cretaceous fossil strata of Patagonia, which yield the best record for this group. In the Late Cretaceous, abelisaurids appear in almost all regions of Gondwana and in all...
Ortega F., Malafaia E., Escaso F., Coria R.A. 2022. New material of theropods (Abelisauroidea?) from Lo Hueco (Late Cretaceous. Cuenca, Central Spain). In: Belvedere M., Mecozzi B., Amore O., Sardella R. (eds.). Abstract book of the XIX Annual Conference of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, Benevento/Pietraroja, Italy, 27th-2...
The Snow Hill Island Formation (SHIF; late Campanian-early Maastrichtian) crops out in the northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula and constitutes the basal part of the late Campanian-early Maastrichtian sedimentary succession of the James Ross Basin (NG Sequence). Its major exposures occur at the James Ross and Vega islands. Several fossil-bearing lo...
Osteological knowledge of the sauropod dinosaur Ligabuesaurus leanzai is increased by the description of new postcranial elements assigned to the holotype MCF-PVPH-233. Furthermore, a newly referred specimen, MCF-PVPH-228, is recognized after a detailed revision of the abundant sauropod material collected from the Lohan Cura Formation outcrops in t...
Ortega F., Escaso F., Malafaia E., Coria R.A. 2021. Aves gigantes en el Cretácico Superior de Lo Hueco (Fuentes, Cuenca). Lucas Mallada 23. XXXVI Jornadas de la SEP. 207-208. http://revistas.iea.es/index.php/LUMALL
Malafaia E., Escaso F., Coria RA. 2021. A velociraptorine tibia from Lo Hueco (Upper Cretaceous, Central Spain). In: Belvedere M., Díez Díaz V., Mecozzi B., Sardella R (eds.). Abstract book of the XVIII annual conference of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, online, 5th-9th July 2021. Palaeovertebrata, 44, 111
Abelisauridae is a theropod clade with a wide distribution in the Late Cretaceous of Gondwana. Some of the best preserved abelisaurid specimens were recovered from Patagonia (Argentina) such as Skorpiovenator, Ilokelesia, Carnotaurus and Aucasaurus. Here we describe a dorsal part of a neural spine; a middle caudal vertebra; a distal part of a left...
Although the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) has an extensive record of fossil vertebrates for the Upper Cretaceous, little is known about the Early Cretaceous vertebrate faunas. The Mulichinco Formation (early Valanginian), where some dinosaur bone sites were found, provides important additional insights into the composition of continental fauna of that...
The first dinosaur embryos found inside megaloolithid eggs from Auca Mahuevo, Patagonia, were assigned to sauropod dinosaurs that lived approximately 80 million years ago. Discovered some 25 years ago, these considerably flattened specimens still remain the only unquestionable embryonic remains of a sauropod dinosaur providing an initial glimpse in...
Although knowledge of Mesozoic marine reptiles from Antarctica has improved considerably in recent years, associated and well-preserved skeletal material of these animals remains uncommon. Here we describe a largely complete, closely associated plesiosaur pelvic girdle recovered from the uppermost Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Sandwich Bluff Member of...
A new ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur, Huinculsaurus montesi gen. et sp. nov., is described here. This taxon is based on the last three dorsal vertebrae and the first and second sacral vertebrae found in association at Aguada Grande, Neuquén Province, Argentina. Although fragmentary, Huinculsaurus shows a unique mix of features which differentiates...
A new carcharodontosaurid taxon, Lajasvenator ascheriae gen. et sp. nov. is described. The new taxon is based on two specimens: MLL-PV-Pv-005 is a partial skeleton represented by a portion of the snout, partially articulated presacral vertebral series, four articulated caudal vertebra and fragments of the pelvic girdle; MLL-PV-Pv-007 includes the a...
One of the diagnostic characters of dicraeosaurid sauropods is a reduction of pneumatization of dorsal and caudal vertebrae relative to their Flagellicaudata sister taxon, Diplodocidae. Here, we analyse pneumatic structures in the dicraeosaurid sauropod Pilmatueia faundezi, compare them to those of diplodocoids and report the first record of camera...
A detailed histological study of Antarctopelta oliveroi, from the Upper Cretaceous of Antarctica, is performed in order to increase our knowledge of the ankylosaur bone histology and its taxonomical and paleobiological implications. The main goals of this contribution are: to infer the ontogenetic stage of the holotype of Antarctopelta oliveroi (ML...
La presente contribución se centra en la histología ósea de dos ornitópodos antárticos de
la Formación Snow Hill Island (Maastrichtiano-Campaniano), Trinisaura
santamartaensis y Morrosaurus antarcticus. El objetivo es establecer el estadio
ontogenético de ambos taxones, así como determinar si su crecimiento presenta
diferencias significativas con f...
Noasauridae is a family of abelisauroid theropods that has a scarce record in South America, which, up to now, was only represented by small-sized forms from the Hauterivian (Lower Cretaceous) Ligabueino andesi Bonaparte; the Santonian (Upper Cretaceous) Velocisaurus unicus Bonaparte; and the Campanian-Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Noasaurus lea...
A new peirosaurid crocodyliform from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) of South America, Barrosasuchus neuquenianus gen. et sp. nov. is here described. Barrosasuchus is distinguished by a combination of features that include: presence of a foramen at the mid-point of the dorsal surface of the mandibular symphysis; quadratojugal dorsally broad, exten...
A new dicraeosaurid sauropod, Pilmatueia faundezi gen. et sp. nov. from the Mulichinco Formation (Valanginian, Lower Cretaceous, Neuquén Basin, Argentina) is based on isolated skeletal remains collected from a single stratigraphic level, relatively close to each other, with unquestionable dicraeosaurid features in the axial elements. Pilmatueia fau...
The Megaraptora is an intriguing taxon of medium-sized theropod dinosaurs with disputed phylogenetic relationships. Depending on the chosen characters to be scored, megaraptorans can be understood either as the sister group of Carcharodontosauridae, or the sibling taxon of Tyrannosauroidea. Despite this unresolved phylogenetic scenario, the number...
The small coelurosaur theropod Patagonykus puertai (PVPH-37), recovered in Portezuelo Formation (Turonian-Coniacian, Upper Cretaceous), from Neuquén province, Argentina, was originally published as represented by postcranial elements of a single individual. A recent review of the holotype specimen has revealed the presence of several cranial remain...
Elasmosaurids are a monophyletic group of cosmopolitan plesiosaurs with extremely long necks. Although abundant elasmosaurid material has been collected from the Upper Cretaceous of Antarctica, skull material is extremely rare. Here, new elasmosaurid cranial material from the lower Maastrichtian levels of the Cape Lamb Member (Snow Hill Island Form...
Purpose: New sauropod remains (MCF-PVPH-889, MCF-PVPH-899, and MCF-PVPH-900) collected from the Plottier Fm (Coniacian–Santonian) in the south-west of the Neuquén Basin, are here reported. The materials proceed from a fluvial outcrop composed by siltstone and fine sandstone, whose fossil record is known for large-sized sauropod taxa. Methods: Due t...
A partially preserved sauropod natural cranial endocast (MLL-003) was collected from the Lower Cretaceous Mulichinco Formation in Argentina. The cast consists of cemented sandstone that has preserved in detail the general endocranial morphology, but not the cranial nerves. The dural expansion, the dorsal portion of the medulla oblongata, the cerebr...
Field works on terrestrial sediments of the Mulichinco Formation at Pilmatué locality, 9 km north from Las Lajas, Neuquén, permitted the collection of dinosaur remains from different taxa, of which the dicraeosaurid sauropods seem to be the most abundantly represented form. The materials correspond to postcranial elements, representing different se...
The terrestrial facies of the Mulichinco Formation have yielded a unique association of dinosaur taxa that includes or-nithopods, dicraeosaurid and diplodocid sauropods, and carcharodontosaurid theropods. The carcharodontosaurids are represented by an incomplete, partially articulated medium-sized individual (MLL-007) recently communicated as the o...
Here we report the associated remains of an adult sauropod specimen collected from Egg Layer 3, at the egg fossil-bearing site Auca Mahuevo, located at northern Neuquén Province. The remains were buried in coarse sandstone, and collected from a single digging site. The specimen, MCF-PVPH-335 is a fragmentary skeleton represented by an incomplete po...
A new association of continental vertebrate remains found in the lower section of the Mulichinco Formation (Valanginian), 10 km north of Las Lajas, are focus of taphonomic studies. The facies associations correspond to the deposit of fluvial channel, with lateral migration bars and scarce development of floodplains. The fossils are found in a tabul...
Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs remains are frequently collected across the Marambio Group (Santonian-Danian), Antarctica. Notwithstanding, finding of informative cranial material is extremelyrare. A new specimen (MLP 15-I-7-6), from the Cape Lamb Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation (lower Maastrichtian) in Vega Island (Fig. 1.A, B) allows studyingth...
Skeletal remains corresponding to an adult specimen of an allosauroid theropod (MLLPv-007) were collected in the sandstones of the Mulichinco Formation (Valanginian, Lower Cretaceous of the Neuquén Basin). The specimen includes the tip of the snout, some postdentary bones, vertebrae (cervicals, dorsals, sacrals and caudals), ribs, and
fragments of...
The first Podocarpaceae wood record is described from the Mulichinco Formation (Valanginian, Lower Cretaceous), Neuquén Basin, Argentina. The specimen was directly associated with a middle caudal vertebra of a diplodocid sauropod dinosaur. A new species – Podocarpoxylon prumnopityoides – is proposed based on features that include the presence of ab...
We describe a new species of an ornithischian dinosaur, Isaberrysaura mollensis gen. et sp. nov. The specimen, consisting in an almost complete skull and incomplete postcranium was collected from the marine-deltaic deposits of the Los Molles Formation (Toarcian-Bajocian), being the first reported dinosaur for this unit, one of the oldest from Neuqu...
O’Gorman, J.P. & Coria, R.A. September 2016. A new elasmosaurid specimen from the upper Maastrichtian of Antarctica: new evidence of a monophyletic group of Weddellian elasmosaurids. Alcheringa 41, xxx–xxx. ISSN 0311-5518
A new fossil elasmosaurid specimen, MLP 15-I-7-48, from the upper Maastrichtian Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano...
A skeleton discovered in the Upper Cretaceous Sierra Barrosa Formation (Turonian-Coniacian) of Neuquén Province, Argentina represents a new species of theropod dinosaur related to the long snouted, highly pneumatized Megaraptoridae. The holotype specimen of Murusraptor barrosaensis n.gen et n.sp. (MCF-PVPH-411) includes much of the skull, axial ske...
Ichnologic and sedimentologic studies of the Lajas Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Sierra de la Vaca Muerta, allowed the recognition of two different types of deltaic mouth bars, each of them showing trace fossil suites with different characteristics. Type I deltaic mouth bars consist of fine to coarse sandstones and fine conglomerates completed rew...
We present a well-preserved skull of a titanosaurian embryo discovered inside an egg from Patagonia, Argentina. The egg, which had been illegally exported, was eventually brought to the attention of T.W.M. who realized its scientific importance after preparation exposed embryonic remains. T.M.W. secured the specimen (MCF-PVPH-874) and donated it to...
A new species of an edaphodontid holocephalian, Edaphodon snowhillensis, sp. nov., is described based on a complete dentition collected in the late Campanian Herbert Sound Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation of James Ross Island, Antarctica. The dentition consists of paired vomerine, mandibular, and palatine tooth plates, which are almost comp...
We report an isolated left frontal (MCF-PVPH 320) corresponding to a medium-sized theropod dinosaur from the Portezuelo Formation (Coniacian) of northern Patagonia. It shows a unique combination of traits that are not present in any other known Cretaceous theropod from South America. MCF-PVPH 320 is robust and anteroposteriorly short, with a flat a...
Much of the current paleobiological knowledge on titanosaur sauropods was attained in just the last fifteen years, in particular that related to reproductive and developmental biology. In recent years it has also been progress on other poorly explored topics, such as pneumaticity, architecture and locomotion, and reconstruction endocasts and associ...
The carcharodontosaurid theropod Mapusaurus roseae (Cenomanian of Neuquén Province, Argentina) is represented by at least seven disarticulated individuals from a monospecific bonebed, all of different sizes and presumably different stages of maturity. We report a series of anatomical differences between repeated skull bones of Mapusaurus, which we...
Sauropod dinosaurs are the largest terrestrial vertebrate to have lived on Earth. This size must have posed special challenges for the musculoskeletal system. Scaling theory shows that body mass and hence the loads that must be overcome increases with body size more rapidly than either the ability of the muscles to generate force, or the ability of...
The fossil record of terrestrial vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous of Antarctica is currently composed of non-avian and avian dinosaurs from the marine sediments of the James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula (West Antarctica). Although two dinosaurian formational assemblages (Late Campanian/Early Maastrichtian and Late Maastrichtian) are known, t...
A new lithostrotian sauropod, the small-sized Overosaurus paradasorum n. gen et sp. from the Anacleto Formation (Campanian,
Late Cretaceous, Neuquén Group, Patagonia, Argentina) is here described. The specimen (MAU-Pv-CO-439)
consists of a fully articulated vertebral series from the 10th cervical to the 20th caudal vertebra, the last cervical ribs,...
Paleoepidemiology (the study of disease and trauma in prehistoric populations) provides insight into the distribution of disease and can have implications for interpreting behavior in extinct organisms. A monospecific bonebed of the giant carcharodontosaurid Mapusaurus (minimum number of individuals = 9) from the Cañadón del Gato site, Neuquén Prov...
a b s t r a c t A new ornithopod dinosaur from Antarctica, Trinisaura santamartaensis n. gen. et n. sp. is diagnosed by a unique combination of characters that includes a scapula with a spike-like acromial process with a strong and sharp lateral crest and longer than other ornithopods, a humerus with a rudimentary deltopectoral crest represented as...
A NEW HADROSAURID (DINOSAURIA, ORNITHOPODA) FROM ALLEN FORMATION, LA PAMPA PROVINCE, ARGENTINA. New studies of a Hadrosauridae specimen collected in the Allen Formation, Late Campanian/Early Maastrichthian from La Pampa Province, Argentina, allow recognizing a new taxon, Lapampasaurus cholinoi gen. et sp. nov., which is diagnosed by the following c...
A NEW HADROSAURID (DINOSAURIA, ORNITHOPODA) FROM ALLEN FORMATION, LA PAMPA PROVINCE, ARGENTINA. New studies of a Hadrosauridae specimen collected in the Allen Formation, Late Campanian/Early Maastrichthian from La Pampa Province, Argentina, allow recognizing a new taxon, Lapampasaurus cholinoi gen. et sp. nov., which is diagnosed by the following c...
We report on a new dryolestoid (Mammalia, Dryolestoidea, Meridiolestida) from the Los Bastos Formation (Coniacian), Neuquen Province, Patagonia, Argentina, consisting of an edentulous left dentary (MCF-PVPH 412). The alveoli preserved suggest the presence of three incisors, one double-rooted canine, and six double-rooted postcanines (probably three...
Sauropoda is one of the most diverse and geographically widespread clades of herbivorous dinosaurs, and until now, their remains have now been recovered from all continental landmasses except Antarctica. We report the first record of a sauropod dinosaur from Antarctica, represented by an incomplete caudal vertebra from the Late Cretaceous of James...
Titanosaur embryonic remains are described from megaloolithid eggs collected in the Anacleto Formation (Late Cretaceous) at Auca Mahuevo in Neuquén province (Argentina). These remains include complete articulate and disarticulate skulls, and numerous cranial and appendicular isolated elements. The embryonic skull is short, high, and presents numero...
Embryonic osteology of titanosaur sauropods from Neuquén (Argentina): ontogenetic and evolutionary considerations. Titanosaur embryonic remains are described from megaloolithid eggs collected in the Anacleto Formation (Late Cretaceous) at Auca Mahuevo in Neuquén province (Argentina). These remains include complete articulate and disarticulate skull...
The discovery of hundreds of megaloolithid-type egg-clutches (some including embryos of an indeterminate species of titanosaur sauropods) in several stratigraphical levels of the Late Cretaceous nesting site of Auca Mahuevo unveiled important aspects of the reproductive behavior of sauropod dinosaurs and stimulated further work at other Patagonian...
A new Late Cretaceous titanosaurian sauropod from the Sierra Barrosa locality (Anacleto Formation, Late Cretaceous, early Campanian) of Neuquén Province, Argentina, Barrosasaurus casamiquelai gen. et sp. nov., is described. The holotype of this species consists of three large and incomplete, although well-preserved, dorsal vertebrae (one probably t...
A new Late Cretaceous titanosaurian sauropod from the Sierra Barrosa locality (Anacleto Formation, Late Cretaceous, early Campanian) of Neuquén Province, Argentina, Barrosasaurus casamiquelai gen. et sp. nov., is described. The holotype of this species consists of three large and incomplete, although well-preserved, dorsal vertebrae (one probably t...
We present new remains from the Campanian-Maastrichtian beds of the Allen Formation, in Salitral Ojo de Agua (Rio Negro, Argentina), which are assignable to Alvarezsauridae indet. This clade of small coelurosaurian theropods is known from strata of similar age in Mongolia, and from older sediments (Turonian and Coniacian in age) in Argentina. Thus,...