Ekrixinatosaurus
Sign in to saveEkrixinatosaurus ('explosion-born reptile') is a genus of abelisaurid theropod which lived approximately 99 to 97 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossils have been found in Argentina. Only one species is currently recognized, Ekrixinatosaurus novasi, from which the specific name honors Dr. Fernando Novas for his contributions to the study of abelisaurid theropods, while the genus name refers to the dynamiting of the holotype specimen. It was a large abelisaurid, measuring between in length and weighing .
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Discovery and naming
- Description
- Skull
- Classification
- Paleoecology
- See also
- References
Ekrixinatosaurus ('explosion-born reptile') is a genus of abelisaurid theropod which lived approximately 99 to 97 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossils have been found in Argentina. Only one species is currently recognized, Ekrixinatosaurus novasi, from which the specific name honors Dr. Fernando Novas for his contributions to the study of abelisaurid theropods, while the genus name refers to the dynamiting of the holotype specimen. It was a large abelisaurid, measuring between in length and weighing .
== Discovery and naming == The type species, Ekrixinatosaurus novasi, was first described in 2004 by Argentinian paleontologist Jorge Calvo, and Chilean paleontologists David Rubilar-Rogers and Karen Moreno. The fossils were found dispersed over an area of 15 m in the Candeleros Formation, a geologic formation that outcrops in Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza provinces of Argentina. This formation dates from 100 to 97 mya, and consists of red beds where other famous vertebrate animals have been discovered, such as Giganotosaurus, Rebbachisaurus and Andesaurus. The discovery occurred due to excavations for building a gas pipeline conducted by Gasoducto del Pacífico Company in Bajo del Añelo.