Quilmesaurus

Kwil-me-sor-us.
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Emerson Winslow

Paleoichthyologist

Emerson Winslow delves into the underwater world of prehistoric fish, uncovering the mysteries of early marine life. His discoveries have enhanced understanding of vertebrate evolution in aquatic environments.

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Name

Quilmesaurus.

Phonetic

Kwil-me-sor-us.

Named By

R.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Coria‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001.

Classification

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

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

Q.‭ ‬curriei‭

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).

In Depth

       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.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT