Predatory dinosaur remains from Madagascar: Implications for the cretaceous biogeography of Gondwana

Science

Volumn 280, Issue 5366, 1998, Pages 1048-1051

  Sampson, Scott D ^a   Witmer, Lawrence M ^b   Forster, Catherine A ^c   Krause, David W ^c   O'Connor, Patrick M ^c   Dodson, Peter ^d   Ravoavy, Florent ^e  

^a NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

^b OHIO UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA   (United States)

^e UNIVERSITY OF ANTANANARIVO   (Madagascar)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BIOGEOGRAPHY; CRETACEOUS; DINOSAUR; GONDWANA;

ARCHEOLOGY; ARTICLE; BRAIN SIZE; FOSSIL; MADAGASCAR; NEUROANATOMY; NONHUMAN; PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY; PREDATION; PREDATOR; PRIORITY JOURNAL;

MADAGASCAR;

EID: 0032524428     PISSN: 00368075     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1126/science.280.5366.1048     Document Type: Article

References (57)

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28. Synapomorphies of Abelisauridae observable in Majungatholus atopus include Cranial: External sculpturing of craniofacial elements; premaxilla with reduced to absent palatal process; maxilla-jugal contact elongate; rostral process of lacrimal strongly reduced or absent; lacrimal with pronounced suborbital process; broad lacrimal-postorbital contact; long axis of postorbital oriented rostroventral-caudodorsal; postorbital with pronounced suborbital process; high, transversely broad nuchal crest with large squamosal contributions; medial alveolar border of premaxilla, maxilla, and dentary bearing fused interdental plates with series of vertical ridges and grooves; hypertrophied external mandibular fenestra and associated weak contacts between dentary and postdentary elements. Postcranial: Postaxial epipophyses elongate.
29. Synapomorphies of Majungatholus and Carnotaurus include Cranial: Postorbital rostrocaudally elongate; postorbital with stepped-down ventrolateral fossa; dorsally placed median fossa in saddle-shaped depression overlapping contact of frontals and parietals; enlarged, caudodorsally projecting parietal eminence supported ventrally by stout supraoccipital; laterally directed paroccipital processes with up-turned distal ends; stout, triangular splenial with straight caudal margin (73).
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57. We thank B. Rakotosamimanana, P. Wright, B. Andriamihaja, the Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments staff, the people of Berivotra, and all expedition members for assistance with field work; G. Buckley, J. Flynn, and W. Simpson (FMNH) for preparation support; P. Currie and G. Olshevsky for anatomical and nomenclatural discussions; R. Coria and D. Fastovsky for manuscript reviews; K. Passaglia, V. Heisey, and J. Holstein for preparation of specimens; M. Stewart and J. Weinstein for photography; and B. Chen and R. Day for assistance with CT scanning. The figures were composed by L. Betti-Nash. Access to comparative materials was kindly provided by P. Taquet (Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris); S. Cumbaa, K. Shepherd, and C. Kennedy (Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa); S. Chatterjee (Texas Tech University, Lubbock); D. Rudra and S. Bandyopadhyay (Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta); and S. Sen Gupta (Geological Survey of India, Calcutta). Supported by NSF and The Dinosaur Society.