Name:
Quilmesaurus.
Phonetic: Kwil-me-sor-us.
Named By: R. A. Coria - 2001.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Abelisauridae, Carnotaurini.
Species: Q. curriei (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Tibia about 52.9 centimetres long,
preserved length of femur 35 centimetres (upper portion of femur
is missing). Total body size uncertain due to lack of remains but
roughly estimated to be about 4.5 to 5 meters long.
Known locations: Argentina - Allen Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Right tibia (lower leg
bone) and a partial lower portion of the right femur (upper leg
bone).
Named in 2001, Quilmesaurus is so far known only from two right leg bones, and one of those is incomplete. This makes it very hard to establish details about Quilmesaurus, but assuming that the genus has similar body proportions to other abelisaurid dinosaurs then it is possible to scale the existing fossils of Quilmesaurus to get a very rough idea to the physical size and shape. For example, basing Quilmesaurus upon Aucasaurus body proportions and then scaling the remains to make the tibia fifty-three centimetres long results in a total size reconstruction of up to about four and a half meters.
Further reading
- New theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. - Mesozoic
Vertebrate Life 3-9. - R. A. Coria - 2001.
- Quilmesaurus curriei Coria, 2001. Su validez
taxon�mica y
relaciones filogen�ticas. - XX Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontolog�a
de Vertebrados (La Plata), Res�menes, p. 36-37. - R.
D. Ju�rez Valieri, L. E. Fiorelli & L. E. Cruz
- 2004.
- Quilmesaurus curriei Coria, 2001. Su
validez taxon�mica y
relaciones filogen�ticas. - Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias
Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” – Paleontolog�a, 9(1):
59-66. - R. D. Ju�rez Valieri, L. E. Fiorelli &
L. E. Cruz - 2007.