Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jan 15;7(1):191462.
doi: 10.1098/rsos.191462. eCollection 2020 Jan.

New theropod remains and implications for megaraptorid diversity in the Winton Formation (lower Upper Cretaceous), Queensland, Australia

Matt A White  1   2 , Phil R Bell  1 , Stephen F Poropat  2   3 , Adele H Pentland  2   3 , Samantha L Rigby  2   3 , Alex G Cook  2 , Trish Sloan  2 , David A Elliott  2
Affiliations

New theropod remains and implications for megaraptorid diversity in the Winton Formation (lower Upper Cretaceous), Queensland, Australia

Matt A White et al. R Soc Open Sci. .

Abstract

The holotype specimen of the megaraptorid Australovenator wintonensis, from the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation (Rolling Downs Group, Eromanga Basin) of central Queensland, is the most complete non-avian theropod found in Australia to date. In fact, the holotype of A. wintonensis and isolated megaraptorid teeth (possibly referable to Australovenator) constitute the only theropod body fossils reported from the Winton Formation. Herein, we describe a new fragmentary megaraptorid specimen from the Winton Formation, found near the type locality of A. wintonensis. The new specimen comprises parts of two vertebrae, two metatarsals, a pedal phalanx and multiple unidentifiable bone fragments. Although the new megaraptorid specimen is poorly preserved, it includes the only megaraptorid vertebrae known from Queensland. The presence of pleurocoels and highly pneumatic caudal centra with camerate and camellate internal structures permit the assignment of these remains to Megaraptora gen. et sp. indet. A morphological comparison revealed that the distal end of metatarsal II and the partial pedal phalanx II-1 of the new specimen are morphologically divergent from Australovenator. This might indicate the presence of a second megaraptorid taxon in the Winton Formation, or possibly intraspecific variation.

Keywords: Australovenator; Megaraptora; Winton Formation; dinosaurs; megaraptorids; theropods.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

We declare we have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Locality and geological setting of AODL 261 (the ‘Marilyn’ Site). (a) Location of Elderslie Station (star) within the context of the Eromanga Basin (green), Central West Queensland, Australia. (b) Aerial photograph of AODL 261. (c) Schematic interpretation of the subsurface stratigraphy of AODL 261. Here, fossils are naturally brought to the surface from deeper fossiliferous horizons by the expansion–contraction of the clay-rich soils.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Megaraptorid caudal centrum (AODF 967) in (a,b) anterior, (c,d) posterior (e,f) right lateral, (g,h) left lateral (i,j) dorsal and (k,l) ventral views. car, camerate internat structure; cam, camellate internal structure; nc, neural canal; p, pleurocoel.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Megaraptorid caudal vertebra (AODF 968) in (a,b) posterior, (c,d) anterior, (e,f) right lateral, (g,h) left lateral, (i,j) dorsal and (k,l) ventral views. car, camerate internal structure; cam, camellate internal structure; nc, neural canal; p, pleurocoel.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Megaraptorid proximal left metatarsal II (AODF 977) in (a,b) proximal, (c,d) distal, (e,f) medial and (g,h) lateral views.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Megaraptorid distal right metatarsal IV (AODF 979) in (a,b) distal, (c,d) anterior, (e,f) posterior, (g,h) lateral and (i,j) medial views. Missing parts are reconstructed with a dashed line.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Megaraptorid distal right metatarsal II (AODF 978) compared with the right metatarsal II of A. wintonensis (AODF 604). Photographs (a–e) and digital renders (f–j) of megaraptorid right metatarsal II (AODF 978) in (a,f) anterior, (b,g) posterior, (c,h) medial, (d,i) lateral and (e,j) distal views. Digital renders (k–o) of A. wintonensis right metatarsal II (AODF 604) in (k) anterior, (l) posterior, (m) medial, (N) lateral and (o) distal views. Digital comparison (P–T) of right second metatarsals of AODF 978 (solid tan) with AODF 604 (Australovenator; transparent grey) corrected for scale and orientation in (p) anterior, (q) posterior, (r) medial, (s) lateral and (t) distal views.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Megaraptorid distal right metatarsal II (AODF 978) compared with distal right metatarsal II of Megaraptor sp. (UNPSJB-PV 944). Photographs (a–e) of megaraptorid right metatarsal II (AODF 978) in (a) anterior, (b) posterior, (c) medial, (d) lateral and (e) distal views. Photographs (f–j) of Megaraptor sp. right metatarsal II (UNPSJB-PV 944) in (f) anterior, (g) posterior, (h) medial, (i) lateral and (j) distal views.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Megaraptorid distal left pedal phalanx II-1 (AODF 972) compared with the left pedal phalanx II-1 of A. wintonensis (AODF 604). Photographs (a–e) and digital renders (f–j) of megaraptorid left pedal phalanx II-1 (AODF 972) in (a,f) anterior, (b,g) posterior, (c,h) medial, (d,i) lateral and (e,j) distal views. Digital renders (k–o) of A. wintonensis left pedal phalanx II-1 (AODF 604) in (k) anterior, (l) posterior, (m) medial, (n) lateral and (o) distal views. Digital comparison (p–t) of left pedal phalanges II-1 of AODF 978 (solid tan) with AODF 604 (Australovenator; transparent grey) in (p) anterior, (q) posterior, (r) medial, (s) lateral and (t) distal views.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Poropat SF, White MA, Vickers-Rich P, Rich TH. 2019. New megaraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) remains from the Lower Cretaceous Eumeralla Formation of Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 39, e1666273 (10.1080/02724634.2019.1666273) - DOI
    1. Huene FV. 1932. Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte. Monographien zur Geologie und Paläontologie (Series 1) 4, 1–361.
    1. Agnolin FL, Ezcurra MD, Pais DF, Salisbury SW. 2010. A reappraisal of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaur faunas from Australia and New Zealand: evidence for their Gondwanan affinities. J. Syst. Paleontol. 8, 257–300. (10.1080/14772011003594870) - DOI
    1. White MA, Falkingham PL, Cook AG, Hocknull SA, Elliott DA. 2013. Morphological comparisons of metacarpal I for Australovenator wintonensis and Rapator ornitholestoides: implications for their taxonomic relationships. Alcheringa 37, 435–441. (10.1080/03115518.2013.770221) - DOI
    1. Molnar RE, Pledge NS. 1980. A new theropod dinosaur from South Australia. Alcheringa 4, 281–287. (10.1080/03115518008558972) - DOI

LinkOut - more resources