Llukalkan

Lu-kal-kan.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Llukalkan ‭(‬one who causes fear‭)‬.

Phonetic

Lu-kal-kan.

Named By

Federico A.‭ ‬Gianechini,‭ ‬Ariel H.‭ ‬M�ndez,Leonardo S.‭ ‬Filippi,‭ ‬Ariana Paulina-Carabaja,‭ ‬Rub�n D.‭ ‬Ju�rez-Valieri‭ & ‬Alberto C.‭ ‬Garrido‭ ‬-‭ ‬2021.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Abelisauridae,‭ ‬Furileusauria.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

L.‭ ‬aliocranianus‭

Size

Reconstructed skull size roughly‭ ‬46‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

Argentina‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bajo de la Carpa Formation.

Time Period

Santonian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial skull.‭ ‬Partial posterior elements of the jaw.

In Depth

       Llukalkan is a genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬As with‭ ‬other dinosaurs of its kind,‭ ‬Llukalkan would have been a predator.‭ ‬Though the holotype skull of Llukalkan is fragmentary,‭ ‬analysis of the inner ear has revealed that Llukalkan might have had better hearing than other abelisaurid dinosaurs.‭ ‬The holotype skull of Llukalkan‭ ‬was also found about seven hundred meters away from where‭ ‬another abelsiaurid dinosaur named Viavenator was discovered.‭

Further reading

-‭ ‬A New Furileusaurian Abelisaurid from La Invernada‭ (‬Upper Cretaceous,‭ ‬Santonian,‭ ‬Bajo De La Carpa Formation‭)‬,‭ ‬Northern Patagonia,‭ ‬Argentina.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬-‭ ‬Federico A.‭ ‬Gianechini,‭ ‬Ariel H.‭ ‬M�ndez,Leonardo S.‭ ‬Filippi,‭ ‬Ariana Paulina-Carabaja,‭ ‬Rub�n D.‭ ‬Ju�rez-Valieri‭ & ‬Alberto C.‭ ‬Garrido‭ ‬-‭ ‬2021.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT