TY - JOUR
T1 - An enigmatic plant-eating theropod from the Late Jurassic period of Chile
AU - Novas, Fernando E.
AU - Salgado, Leonardo
AU - Suárez, Manuel
AU - Agnolín, Federico L.
AU - Ezcurra, Martín D.
AU - Chimento, Nicolás R.
AU - De La Cruz, Rita
AU - Isasi, Marcelo P.
AU - Vargas, Alexander O.
AU - Rubilar-Rogers, David
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We thank P. Barrett, A. Milner and R. Butler for comments on early versions of this manuscript. We are grateful to C. Alsina, M. Milani, R. Stoll and M. Aranciaga for field assistance and technical preparation of Chilesaurus specimens. G. Lio executed the silhouette of Chilesaurus in Fig. 1. C. Burke offered support to conduct fieldwork and technical preparation of the specimens. We are indebted to the Agencia Nacional dePromoción Científica y Tecnológica(PICT 2010-066 to F.E.N.) and the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (no. 1121140 and 1030162 to M.S.) for continuing financial assistance.
PY - 2015/6/18
Y1 - 2015/6/18
N2 - Theropod dinosaurs were the dominant predators in most Mesozoic era terrestrial ecosystems. Early theropod evolution is currently interpreted as the diversification of various carnivorous and cursorial taxa, whereas the acquisition of herbivorism, together with the secondary loss of cursorial adaptations, occurred much later among advanced coelurosaurian theropods. A new, bizarre herbivorous basal tetanuran from the Upper Jurassic of Chile challenges this conception. The new dinosaur was discovered at Aysén, a fossil locality in the Upper Jurassic Toqui Formation of southern Chile (General Carrera Lake). The site yielded abundant and exquisitely preserved three-dimensional skeletons of small archosaurs. Several articulated individuals of Chilesaurus at different ontogenetic stages have been collected, as well as less abundant basal crocodyliforms, and fragmentary remains of sauropod dinosaurs (diplodocids and titanosaurians).
AB - Theropod dinosaurs were the dominant predators in most Mesozoic era terrestrial ecosystems. Early theropod evolution is currently interpreted as the diversification of various carnivorous and cursorial taxa, whereas the acquisition of herbivorism, together with the secondary loss of cursorial adaptations, occurred much later among advanced coelurosaurian theropods. A new, bizarre herbivorous basal tetanuran from the Upper Jurassic of Chile challenges this conception. The new dinosaur was discovered at Aysén, a fossil locality in the Upper Jurassic Toqui Formation of southern Chile (General Carrera Lake). The site yielded abundant and exquisitely preserved three-dimensional skeletons of small archosaurs. Several articulated individuals of Chilesaurus at different ontogenetic stages have been collected, as well as less abundant basal crocodyliforms, and fragmentary remains of sauropod dinosaurs (diplodocids and titanosaurians).
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84934969995&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/nature14307
DO - 10.1038/nature14307
M3 - Article
C2 - 25915021
AN - SCOPUS:84934969995
VL - 522
SP - 331
EP - 334
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 7556
ER -
