"Ubirajara" ("lord of the spear") is an informal genus of compsognathid theropod that lived during the early Cretaceous period in what is now Brazil. The manuscript describing it was available online pre-publication but was never formally published and, as a consequence, both genus and species name are considered invalid and unavailable.[1] It is known by a single species, "Ubirajara jubatus", recovered from the Crato Formation. It was described as the first Gondwanan non-avian theropod dinosaur discovered with preserved integumentary structures. Such proto-feathers, most likely used for display, include slender monofilaments associated with the base of the neck, increasing in length along the dorsal thoracic region, where they would form a mane, as well as a pair of elongate, ribbon-like structures likely emerging from its shoulders.[2] The taxon was informally named in 2020 in a now-withdrawn in-press academic paper. The description caused controversy due to the fossil having been apparently illegally smuggled from Brazil. In July 2022, Germany agreed to return the fossil to Brazil after a legitimate export permit could not be found. The name "Ubirajara jubatus" was removed from ZooBank in November 2022, which means it no longer has any nomenclatural significance.[1]
- ^ a b Caetano, João Marcus Vale; Delcourt, Rafael & Ponciano, Luiza Corral Martins de Oliveira (March 2023). "A taxon with no name: 'Ubirajara jubatus' (Saurischia: Compsognathidae) is an unavailable name and has no nomenclatural relevance". Zootaxa. 5254 (3): 443–446. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5254.3.10. PMID 37044710. S2CID 257500264.
- ^ Yarlagadda, Tara (15 December 2020). "Paleontologists find tiny, flamboyant dinosaur in ground-breaking discovery". Inverse. Retrieved 2021-09-13.