Deltadromeus

Deltadromeus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian), 99.6–93.5 Ma
Mounted skeleton cast with a speculative skull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Noasauridae (?)
Genus: Deltadromeus
Sereno et al., 1996
Species:
D. agilis
Binomial name
Deltadromeus agilis
Sereno et al., 1996
Synonyms

Deltadromeus (meaning "delta runner") is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Aoufous Formation of Morocco.[1]

It had long, unusually slender hind limbs for its size, suggesting that it was a swift runner.[1] The skull is not known. One fossil specimen of a single species (D. agilis, or "agile delta runner") has been described, found in the Kem Kem Beds, which date to the mid-Cretaceous Period (mid-Cenomanian age), about 95 million years ago. It may be a junior synonym of the contemporary Bahariasaurus.[2] The classification of Deltadromeus has been in flux since its original description. In 2016, a South American theropod known as Gualicho shinyae was found to possess many similarities with Deltadromeus. Depending on the phylogenetic position of Gualicho, Deltadromeus may have been a neovenatorid carnosaur, a tyrannosauroid, or a basal coelurosaur if its close relation to Gualicho is legitimate.[3][4][5] Other studies have considered it a ceratosaurian, more specifically a member of the family Noasauridae.[6][7][8][9]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference serenoetal1996 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2008) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages Supplementary Information
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Apesteguía2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Aoniraptor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Porfiri, Juan D; Juárez Valieri, Rubén D; Santos, Domenica DD; Lamanna, Matthew C (2018). "A new megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation of northwestern Patagonia". Cretaceous Research. 89: 302–319. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.03.014. S2CID 134117648.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference wilsonetal2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference elaphrosaurus_2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference onto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Ibrahim, Nizar; Sereno, Paul C.; Varricchio, David J.; Martill, David M.; Dutheil, Didier B.; Unwin, David M.; Baidder, Lahssen; Larsson, Hans C. E.; Zouhri, Samir; Kaoukaya, Abdelhadi (2020-04-21). "Geology and paleontology of the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of eastern Morocco". ZooKeys (928): 1–216. doi:10.3897/zookeys.928.47517. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 7188693. PMID 32362741.