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A new carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur occupies apex predator niche in the early Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan
| Title: | A new carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur occupies apex predator niche in the early Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan |
| Authors: | Tanaka, Kohei Browse this author | | Anvarov, Otabek Ulugbek Ogli Browse this author | | Zelenitsky, Darla K. Browse this author | | Ahmedshaev, Akhmadjon Shayakubovich Browse this author | | Kobayashi, Yoshitsugu Browse this author →KAKEN DB |
| Keywords: | Bissekty Formation | | Carcharodontosauria | | dinosaur | | Late Cretaceous | | Tyrannosauroidea | | Uzbekistan |
| Issue Date: | 8-Sep-2021 |
| Publisher: | Royal Society |
| Journal Title: | Royal Society open science |
| Volume: | 8 |
| Issue: | 9 |
| Start Page: | 210923 |
| Publisher DOI: | 10.1098/rsos.210923 |
| Abstract: | Carcharodontosauria is a group of medium to large-sized predatory theropods, distributed worldwide during the Cretaceous. These theropods were probably the apex predators of Asiamerica in the early Late Cretaceous prior to the ascent of tyrannosaurids, although few Laurasian species are known from this time due to a poor rock record. Here, we describe Ulughbegsaurus uzbekistanensis gen. et sp. nov. from the early Late Cretaceous (Turonian) of Central Asia, which represents the first record of a Late Cretaceous carcharodontosaurian from the region. This new taxon is represented by a large, isolated maxilla from the Bissekty Formation of the Kyzylkum Desert, the Republic of Uzbekistan, a formation yielding a rich and diverse assemblage of dinosaurs and other vertebrates from fragmentary remains. Comparison of the maxilla with that of other allosauroids indicates Ulughbegsaurus was 7.5-8 m in body length and greater than 1000 kg in body mass, suggesting it was the previously unrecognized apex predator of the Bissekty ecosystem while smaller known tryannosauroids and dromaeosaurids were probable mesopredators. The discovery of Ulughbegsaurus records the geologically latest stratigraphic co-occurrence of carcharodontosaurid and tyrannosauroid dinosaurs from Laurasia, and evidence indicates carcharodontosaurians remained the dominant predators relative to tyrannosauroids, at least in Asia, as late as the Turonian. |
| Type: | article |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2115/82922 |
| Appears in Collections: | 総合博物館 (The Hokkaido University Museum) > 雑誌発表論文等 (Peer-reviewed Journal Articles, etc)
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