Ekrixinatosaurus

Ek-riks-in-at-oh-sore-us.
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Liam Carter

Paleoanthropologist

Liam Carter explores the roots of humanity by studying early human fossils and artifacts. His ground-breaking work has provided a deeper understanding of our ancestors' lifestyles and social structures.

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Name

Ekrixinatosaurus ‭(‬Explosion-born lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ek-riks-in-at-oh-sore-us.

Named By

Jorge Calvo,‭ ‬David Rubilar-Rogers‭ & ‬Karen Moreno‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Abelisauridae,‭ ‬Carnotaurinae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

E.‭ ‬novasi‭

Size

Roughly about 10 meters long, however different comparison methods to other abelisaurid dinosaurs yields either slightly smaller or even slightly larger estimates.

Known locations

Argentina‭ ‬-‭ ‬Candeleros Formation.

Time Period

Cenomainan of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and post cranial remains.

In Depth

       To date Ekrixinatosaurus is without doubt one of the largest abelisaurid theropods that we currently know about,‭ ‬and even at the lower estimate of ten meters long,‭ ‬Ekrixinatosaurus was still bigger than the far more famous Carnotaurus which at the time of writing‭ ‬seems to‭ ‬have had a maximum size of nine meters long.‭ ‬Because of the large size,‭ ‬Ekrixinatosaurus was probably a predator of other large dinosaur in its ecosystem such as the sauropods like Andesaurus.‭ ‬Despite‭ ‬the large size however,‭ ‬Ekrixinatosaurus was likely not the apex predator of its time and location as the even bigger carcharodontosaurid Giganotosaurus‭ ‬is also known from the same formation.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new Abelisauridae‭ (‬Dinosauria:‭ ‬Theropoda‭) ‬from northwest Patagonia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ameghiniana‭ ‬41‭ (‬4‭)‬:‭ ‬555‭–‬563.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jorge Calvo,‭ ‬David Rubilar-Rogers‭ & ‬Karen Moreno‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004. – ‬New information on Ekrixinatosaurus novasi Calvo et al.‭ ‬2004,‭ ‬a giant and massively-constructed Abelisauroid from the‭ “‬Middle Cretaceous‭” ‬of Patagonia‭ ‬-‭ Rub�n D.‭ ‬Ju�rez Valieri,‭ ‬Juan D.‭ ‬Porfiri‭ & ‬Jorge O Calvo‭ ‬-‭ ‬In Paleontolog�a y dinosarios desde Am�rica Latina.‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬161‭–‬169.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Calvo,‭ ‬Gonz�lez,‭ ‬Riga,‭ ‬Porfiri‭ & ‬Dos Santos‭ (‬ed.‭) ‬-‭ ‬2011.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT