[Paleontology • 2025] Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis • A New metriacanthosaurid Theropod Dinosaur (Tetanurae: Allosauroidea) from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China

Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis  

 Zou,  Chen, T. Wang, G.-F. Wang, W.-G. Zhang, X.-Q. Zhang, Z.-J. Wang, Wu & You, 2025 

 DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19218 

Abstract

Metriacanthosaurid theropods represent a basal-branching lineage of tetanurans. Members of this clade are mainly medium to large-sized and lived in Laurasia during the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. In this clade, Sinraptor dongi, Sinraptor hepingensis, and Yangchuanosarus shangyouensis from the Late Jurassic are well represented by the nearly complete specimens, but the incompleteness of Middle Jurassic taxa hinders our knowledge of the origin and early evolution of Metriacanthosauridae. This paper describes a new genus and species of metriacanthosaurids, Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic Zhanghe Formation of Yunnan Province, China. The new taxon is represented by a cranium and the anterior section of the vertebral column including the complete cervical series and the first dorsal vertebra. Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis can be diagnosed based on the following autapomorphies: the anterior process of postorbital sheet-shaped and keeping consistent depth; ventral ramus of postorbital bearing a laterally twisted trough running along its lateral surface; ventral surface of axial intercentrum parallel with that of axial centrum; discontinuity of inclination on anterodorsal margin of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae; strongly posteriorly elongated epipophyses of anterior cervical vertebrae; deeply excavated pneumatic foramina on the third cervical vertebra; sheet-shaped and subrectangular neural spines of posterior cervical vertebrae. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Yuanmouraptor as the most basal-branching member within Metriacanthosauridae and provides a new alternative phylogenetic topology of non-coelurosaurian tetanurans.

 Cranium of Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis gen. et sp. nov. (LFGT-ZLJ0115).

 Premaxilla and maxilla of  Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis gen. et sp. nov. (LFGT-ZLJ0115).

 Reconstruction of the cranium of Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis gen. et sp. nov. (LFGT-ZLJ0115). 

Systematic paleontology

Dinosauria Owen, 1842

Theropoda Marsh, 1881

Tetanurae Gauthier, 1986

Allosauroidea Currie & Zhao, 1993

Metriacanthosauridae Paul, 1988

Yuanmouraptor gen. nov. 

Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis gen. et sp. nov.

 

Etymology—The genus name, ‘Yuanmou’, refers to Yuanmou County where the holotype was collected, and ‘raptor’ is Latin for the robber. The specific name, ‘jinshajiang’ (namely the Jinsha River, the middle region of the Yangtze River) which passes through Yuanmou County and the type locality is located on the north bank of the river.

Holotype—LFGT-ZLJ0115: a partial skeleton consists of a nearly complete skull with mandible and 11 articulated anterior vertebrae including 10 cervical vertebrae and the first dorsal vertebra.

Type Locality and horizon—Xiabanjing Village, Jiangyi Township, Yuanmou County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China; Zhanghe Formation, early Middle Jurassic, Aalenian/Bajocian (Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Yunnan Province, 1990).

Diagnosis—A medium-sized metriacanthosaurid dinosaur differing from other metriacanthosaurids by the following unique combination of characters (autapomorphies are indicated with an asterisk): an accessory foramen located within antorbital fossa on lacrimal and ventral to pneumatic foramen, similar to Allosaurus; dorsal part of lacrimal bearing a low rugosity, similar to megalosaurids; lack of pneumatic fenestra on lateral surface of jugal, shared with non-tetanurans; the anterior process of postorbital sheet-shaped and its depth keeping consistent*; ventral ramus of postorbital bearing a laterally twisted trough running along its lateral surface*; ventral surface of axial intercentrum parallel with that of axial centrum, shared with Piatnitzkysaurus and non-tetanurans; discontinuity of inclination on anterodorsal margin of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae, similar to that of Dilophosaurus and Baryonyx; flattened peripheral band on anterior articular surface of anterior cervical centra, shared with megalosaurids and some ceratosaurians; strongly posteriorly elongated epipophyses on anterior cervical vertebrae*; strongly ventromedially excavated pneumatic foramen on the third cervical vertebra*; sheet-shaped and subrectangular neural spines of posterior cervical vertebrae*.

Yi Zou, Li Chen, Tao Wang, Guo-Fu Wang, Wei-Gang Zhang, Xiao-Qin Zhang, Zhen-Ji Wang, Xiao-Chun Wu and Hai-Lu You​. 2025. A New metriacanthosaurid Theropod Dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China. PeerJ. 13:e19218. DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19218 

[Paleontology • 2020] Lusovenator santosi • A New Carcharodontosaurian Theropod from the Lusitanian Basin: Evidence of Allosauroid Sympatry in the European Late Jurassic

  Lusovenator santosi

Malafaia, Mocho, Escaso & Ortega, 2020

  DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2020.1768106  

twitter.com/EFMalafaia  

twitter.com/PD_Mocho

ABSTRACT

Carcharodontosaurian allosauroids were temporally restricted to the Cretaceous, being known from all land masses with the exception of Antarctica. In addition to Veterupristisaurus from Tanzania, exceptions to this distribution have been reported recently, consisting on fragmentary materials from Upper Jurassic strata of China, Germany, and Portugal. Here, we propose a new Late Jurassic carcharodontosaurian taxon, Lusovenator santosi, gen. et sp. nov. based on the reevaluation of previously described specimens from the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal. The performed phylogenetic analysis recovered Lusovenator santosi as an early branching carcharodontosaurian allosauroid diagnosed by an exclusive combination of characters, including three autapomorphic features: (1) large recesses in neural arch of anterior dorsal vertebrae; (2) well-developed and continuous longitudinal laminae extending from the tip of the prezygapophyses to the distal end of the postzygapophyses in mid-caudal vertebrae; and (3) supraacetabular crest of ilium forming a prominent ventrolaterally projecting shelf. Lusovenator santosi is the oldest carcharodontosaurian allosauroid yet discovered from Laurasia and supports unequivocally the hypothesis of a pre-Cretaceous scenario for the radiation of the clade. The identification of this taxon highlights the high diversity of medium- to large-bodied theropods in the later part of the Late Jurassic of the Iberian Peninsula. Carcharodontosauria is not yet known in correlative levels of the North American Morrison Formation, and the existence of contacts after the late Tithonian between these landmasses could explain the distribution of this clade and other dinosaur groups present in the Iberian Jurassic and in the North American Lower Cretaceous.

FIGURE 1. Lusovenator santosi, gen. et sp. nov., SHN.036, holotype, selected skeletal remains.
A, odontoid and atlantal intercentrum in anterior view. B, cervical vertebra in right lateral view. C, D, anterior dorsal vertebra in C, right lateral and D, ventral views. E, sacral neural arch in posterior view. F, neural arch of anterior caudal vertebra in left lateral view. G, H, middle caudal vertebra in G, dorsal and H, left lateral views. I, right ilium in lateral view; J, K, pubes in J, left lateral and K, ventral views. L, silhouette showing preserved elements of SHN.036. A plus sign (+) indicates a diagnostic character and an asterisk (*) indicates an autapomorphy of Lusovenator santosi, gen. et sp. nov.

Abbreviations: acdl, anterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; act, acetabulum; at in, atlantal intercentrum; bf, brevis fossa; cpf, cupedicus fossa; isp, ischial peduncle; mec, medial crest; ms, medial symphysis; ncs, neurocentral suture; ns, neural spine; od, odontoid; pcdl, posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; posdf, postzygapophyseal spinodiapophyseal fossa; poz, postzygapophysis; pp, parapophysis; prz, prezygapophysis; pup, pubic peduncle; spof, spinopostzygapophyseal fossa; tp, transverse process. Scale bars equal 25 mm (A), 50 mm (B–H), 100 mm (I–K), and 1 m (L).

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY 

THEROPODA Marsh, 1881 

TETANURAE Gauthier, 1986 

AVETHEROPODA Paul, 1988

ALLOSAUROIDEA Marsh, 1878 

CARCHARODONTOSAURIA Benson, Carrano, and Brusatte, 2010 

LUSOVENATOR SANTOSI, gen. et sp. nov.

Etymology— The generic name is composed from the Latin words Luso, referring to Lusitania, the province in Roman Hispania related to the current Portugal, and venator, from the Latin word for hunter; the specific name santosi after José Joaquim dos Santos, who found and collected the holotype.

FIGURE 3. Time-calibrated evolutionary tree for Allosauroidea. Agreement subtree produced in TNT, with additional taxa incorporated (Veterupristisaurus milneri) marked with dashed line (see Fig. S1 for the full version of this tree). The pie charts represent relative frequencies of the clades in different paleogeographic areas calculated based on the number of taxa known in each area. Silhouette of dinosaur modified from the drawing of Scott Hartman. Global paleogeographic reconstructions modified from maps in Blakey (2019).

  

         

CONCLUSION:

A new carcharodontosaurian theropod, Lusovenator santosi, gen. et sp. nov., is defined based on a partial skeleton of a juvenile individual, SHN.036, collected in upper Kimmeridgian levels of the Lusitanian Basin. A second specimen, SHN.019, corresponding to some axial and appendicular elements of a large-sized individual, from upper Tithonian strata in the same geographic area, is tentatively proposed as referred material. Also, an isolated femur previously tentatively assigned to Lourinhanosaurus antunesi is interpreted as belonging to a carcharodontosaur. Thus, the fossil record of these allosauroids in the Lusitanian Basin spans from the Kimmeridgian to the upper Tithonian. Lusovenator santosi represents the oldest member of Carcharodontosauria defined in the Upper Jurassic of Laurasia and extends the record of this clade, which was already represented in the Lower Cretaceous of Europe. Despite the great similarity in the theropod faunal composition, the recognition of a carcharodontosaurian allosauroid taxon provides a component of the Upper Jurassic Lusitanian Basin distinct from its contemporaneous Morrison Formation in North America. The development of a terrestrial dispersal route connecting these landmasses after the late Tithonian could explain the absence of Carcharodontosauria in the diverse theropod faunas of the Morrison Formation and, additionally, their presence during the Early and Late Cretaceous of North America. The new carcharodontosaurian theropod provides the first evidence for sympatry among allosauroid theropods in the Late Jurassic of Europe. Additionally, the discovery of L. santosi sheds light on a poorly known period of carcharodontosaurian history and adds important data to the knowledge of the early evolution of these allosauroids.

 Elisabete Malafaia, Pedro Mocho, Fernando Escaso and Francisco Ortega. 2020. A New Carcharodontosaurian Theropod from the Lusitanian Basin: Evidence of Allosauroid Sympatry in the European Late Jurassic. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e1768106.  DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2020.1768106  

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[Paleontology • 2020] High Frequencies of Theropod Bite Marks provide Evidence for Feeding, Scavenging, and possible Cannibalism in A Stressed Late Jurassic Ecosystem

Dry season at the Mygatt-Moore Quarry showing Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus fighting over the desiccated carcass of another theropod. 
 Types of bite marks observed in the MMQ assemblage with arrows indicating features of note.

in Drumheller, McHugh, Kane, et al., 2020. 

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233115 

Illustration by Brian Engh (dontmesswithdinosaurs.com).

Abstract

Bite marks provide direct evidence for trophic interactions and competition in the fossil record. However, variations in paleoecological dynamics, such as trophic relationships, feeding behavior, and food availability, govern the frequency of these traces. Theropod bite marks are particularly rare, suggesting that members of this clade might not often focus on bone as a resource, instead preferentially targeting softer tissues. Here, we present an unusually large sample of theropod bite marks from the Upper Jurassic Mygatt-Moore Quarry (MMQ). We surveyed 2,368 vertebrate fossils from MMQ in this analysis, with 684 specimens (28.885% of the sample) preserving at least one theropod bite mark. This is substantially higher than in other dinosaur-dominated assemblages, including contemporaneous localities from the Morrison Formation. Observed bite marks include punctures, scores, furrows, pits, and striations. Striated marks are particularly useful, diagnostic traces generated by the denticles of ziphodont teeth, because the spacing of these features can be used to provide minimum estimates of trace maker size. In the MMQ assemblage, most of the striations are consistent with denticles of the two largest predators known from the site: Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus. One of the bite marks suggests that a substantially larger theropod was possibly present at the site and are consistent with large theropods known from other Morrison Formation assemblages (either an unusually large Allosaurus or a separate, large-bodied taxon such as Saurophaganax or Torvosaurus). The distribution of the bite marks on skeletal elements, particularly those found on other theropods, suggest that they potentially preserve evidence of scavenging, rather than active predation. Given the relative abundances of the MMQ carnivores, partnered with the size-estimates based on the striated bite marks, the feeding trace assemblage likely preserves the first evidence of cannibalism in Allosaurus.

Fig 3. Shed lateral tooth of Allosaurus sp. (MWC 5011) found at the Mygatt-Moore Quarry, white arrow indicates the distal denticles. Mesial denticles are present on such teeth, but were not preserved in this specimen.

 Fig 2. Types of bite marks observed in the MMQ assemblage with arrows indicating features of note.
A, striated marks produced by ziphodont tooth on an Allosaurus sp. pedal claw (MWC 7263); B, a striated score on an Allosaurus sp. vertebral centrum (MWC 8675); C, a score on an Apatosaurus sp. rib fragment (MWC 3853); D, a dense cluster of furrows on a distal Apatosaurus sp. pubis (MWC 861); E, a puncture (white arrow) and a pit (yellow arrow) on an Allosaurus sp. caudal vertebral centrum; F, a dense cluster of striated furrows Apatosaurus sp. ischium (MWC 4011). All scale bars equal 10 mm.

Fig 4. Dry season at the Mygatt-Moore Quarry showing Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus fighting over the desiccated carcass of another theropod.

Illustration by Brian Engh (dontmesswithdinosaurs.com).

Conclusions: 

The Mygatt-Moore Quarry preserves an unusually highly tooth-marked assemblage from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. Bite marks are consistent with a theropod trace maker, and striations place the traces within the range expected for the known large-bodied theropods from the site: Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus. The largest of these traces suggests an individual that is too large to be either taxon based on existing fossils, suggesting they were produced by an even larger taxon such as Saurophaganax or Torvosaurus. While the location of traces on herbivorous dinosaurs are consistent with predation or early access to remains, bite marks found on other theropod material, more specifically Allosaurus, are concentrated on lower-economy bones, suggesting that they represent incidences of scavenging. If the trace maker is Ceratosaurus, this study represents the first incidence of this taxon feeding on another large, contemporaneous theropod. If the trace maker is Allosaurus, this study represents the first time cannibalism has been reported in this taxon and its encompassing clade, Allosauroidea. If the trace maker is a taxon not represented in the fossil assemblage (i.e., Saurophaganax or Torvosaurus), then these bite marks preserve the first indirect evidence of such a taxon in the MMQ, raising the diversity of large carnivores at the site based on bone surface modifications alone in the absence of body fossils. This seems likely for our largest striations, as they are too large to be produced by any taxon of known size in the MMQ.

Together with the high volume of other bone surface modifications, these traces suggest a depositional environment in which remains were exposed at the surface for long stretches of time, allowing more complete utilization of decaying remains than might be expected at other, contemporary sites with more rapid sediment accumulation (e.g., Carnegie Quarry-Dinosaur National Monument). Therefore, the high concentration of bone surface modifications at the MMQ may represent a true sampling of the processes that shaped the fossil site, a signal that seems to have been boosted by a recent shift to bulk collection at the locality. More detailed comparisons of bone surface modification frequencies in samples collected both before and after this change in collection protocol is ongoing, but this case study demonstrates that paleoecological analyses of these taphonomic processes are helped by more complete sampling and are actively biased by targeting of less damaged, more aesthetically-pleasing bones, as is common practice when type and exhibition specimens are preferentially collected.

Stephanie K. Drumheller, Julia B. McHugh, Miriam Kane, Anja Riedel, Domenic C. D’Amore. 2020. High Frequencies of Theropod Bite Marks provide Evidence for Feeding, Scavenging, and possible Cannibalism in A Stressed Late Jurassic Ecosystem.  PLoS ONE. 15(5): e0233115. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233115

In stressed ecosystems Jurassic dinosaurs turned to scavenging, maybe even cannibalism

phys.org/news/2020-05-stressed-ecosystems-jurassic-dinosaurs-scavenging.html

[Paleontology • 2020] Allosaurus jimmadseni • A New Species of Theropod Dinosaur (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) from the lower part of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Western North America

Allosaurus jimmadseni

Chure​ & Loewen,​. 2020

 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7803

Abstract 

Allosaurus is one of the best known theropod dinosaurs from the Jurassic and a crucial taxon in phylogenetic analyses. On the basis of an in-depth, firsthand study of the bulk of Allosaurus specimens housed in North American institutions, we describe here a new theropod dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Western North America, Allosaurus jimmadseni sp. nov., based upon a remarkably complete articulated skeleton and skull and a second specimen with an articulated skull and associated skeleton. The present study also assigns several other specimens to this new species, Allosaurus jimmadseni, which is characterized by a number of autapomorphies present on the dermal skull roof and additional characters present in the postcrania. In particular, whereas the ventral margin of the jugal of Allosaurus fragilis has pronounced sigmoidal convexity, the ventral margin is virtually straight in Allosaurus jimmadseni. The paired nasals of Allosaurus jimmadseni possess bilateral, blade-like crests along the lateral margin, forming a pronounced nasolacrimal crest that is absent in Allosaurus fragilis.

Figure 4: Lateral view of the skull of the holotype specimen of Allosaurus jimmadseni (DINO 11541). Photograph of skull (A) in left lateral view and (B) explanatory line drawing. Matrix shown as stippled in B. Photo by Dan Chure.

 Scale bar equals 10 cm. Osteological abbreviations: a, articular; an, angular; aof, antorbital fossa; aofe, antorbital fenestra; d, dentary; emf, external mandibular fenestra; j, jugal; l, lacrimal; lv, lacrimal vacuity; ltf, laterotemporal fenestra; m, maxilla; mf, maxillary fenestra; n, nasal; na, naris; nf, narial fossa (external naris); o, orbit; pa, prearticular; pm, premaxilla; pnf, perinarial fossa; po, postorbital; q, quadrate; qj, quadratojugal; sa, surangular; sf, surangular foramen; scr, sclerotic ring; sq, squamosal.

Systematic paleontology

Dinosauria Owen, 1842; sensu Padian & May, 1993

Saurischia Seeley, 1887; sensu Gauthier, 1986

Theropoda Marsh, 1881; sensu Gauthier, 1986

Tetanurae Gauthier, 1986

Allosaurioidea Currie and Zhao, 1994; sensu Carrano, Benson & Sampson, 2012

Allosauria Paul, 1988

Allosauridae Marsh, 1878; sensu Sereno, 2005

Allosaurus Marsh, 1877

Allosaurus jimmadseni Chure and Loewen sp. nov. 

(previously inudum (Chure et al. 2006))

Etymology— In honor of the late James H. Madsen, Jr and in recognition of his outstanding contributions to our knowledge of Allosaurus through his herculean efforts of protecting, excavating, preparing, and curating of many thousands of Allosaurus bones from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur and his masterful monograph (Madsen, 1976) of that collection.

Figure 1: Quarry map of DINO 11541. Photograph of a painted cast of parts of the skeleton and skull of DINO 11541 in their original positions with respect to each other (A) and an explanatory line drawing taken from original quarry photos (B). Photos by Dan Chure. Scale bar equals one m.

Figure 3: Skull and skeletal reconstructions of Allosaurus jimmadseni.
 Idealized skull of Allosaurus jimmadseni in lateral (A), dorsal (B) and posterior (C) views. Skeletal reconstructions of DINO 11541 (D) and MOR 693 (E). Missing elements in indicated in gray. A–C original artwork by Samantha Zimmerman; D and E are modified from artwork by Scott Hartman. Scale bar equals 10 cm for A–C; one m for D and E.

  

Holotype locality—DINO 11541 was recovered from locality DNM 116, east of the enclosed Carnegie Quarry in the Utah part of Dinosaur National Monument. Exact locality data are on file at Dinosaur National Monument.

Holotype horizon—DINO 11541 was recovered from the Salt Wash Member of the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Morrison Formation. All referred specimens occur in the stratigraphically equivalent lower part of the Morrison Formation in Wyoming.

Regional horizon—Allosaurus jimmadseni was found in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation in Utah and lower part of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation in Wyoming and South Dakota. Allosaurus jimmadseni occurs below the “clay change” of Turner & Peterson (1999), except for at DMQ, which occurs only two m above the “clay change”.

Diagnosis—Allosaurus jimmadseni is distinguished from other basal tetanurans by the following unique combination of characters: (1) in lateral view, a row of neurovascular foramina pierce the medioventral wall of the maxillary antorbital fossa; (2) straight posteroventral jugal ramus of maxilla where it articulates with jugal; (3) laterodorsal margin of nasal “pinched” into low crest continuous from premaxilla to lacrimal; (4) posterior portion of dorsal surface of nasal cup-shaped, producing a median peak in region of nasofrontal contact; (5) relatively taller lacrimal horns than in Allosaurus fragilis; (6) jugal with relatively straight ventral margin and straight-to-slightly-curved outline in dorsal view; a well-developed distinct antarticular, and (7) axial intercentrum is rotated dorsally and has a flared rim in lateral view.

Figure 16: Skulls of Allosaurus in left lateral view.
(A) Allosaurus fragilis (DINO 2560). (B) Allosaurus jimmadseni (DINO 11541). (C) Allosaurus europeaus (ML 415). Scale bars equal 10 cm.

Conclusions: 

Based on all known data for specimens of Allosaurus, the genus contains two valid species from the Morrison Formation of North America, Allosaurus fragilis and Allosaurus jimmadseni, which are distinct from Allosaurus europeaus (Fig. 16). The jugal, maxilla and nasal of the two taxa differ in multiple characters, including features associated both with signaling structures (nasolacrimal crest in Allosaurus jimmadseni; lacrimal horn of Allosaurus fragilis) and with craniofacial modifications that more likely reflect modification under the direction of natural selection (e.g., transverse expansion of the rear portion of the skull in Allosaurus fragilis; dorsal displacement of the maxillary tooth row relative to the jaw joint in Allosaurus fragilis). Using these characters, this study assigns several specimens to Allosaurus jimmadseni. In a subsequent publication we will review all named species of Allosaurus from North America in support of our view that there are only two valid species of Allosaurus in North America, Allosaurus fragilis and Allosaurus jimmadseni.

    

Daniel J. Chure​ and Mark A. Loewen​​. 2020. Cranial Anatomy of Allosaurus jimmadseni, A New Species from the lower part of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Western North America. PeerJ. 8:e7803. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7803

New species of Allosaurus discovered in Utah eurekalert.org/e/9ptg via @uofunews @EurekAlert

Remarkable New Species of Meat-Eating Jurassic Dinosaur Discovered in Utah - scitechdaily.com/remarkable-new-species-of-meat-eating-jurassic-dinosaur-discovered-in-utah/

      

   

[Paleontology • 2016] Multivariate and Cladistic Analyses of Isolated Teeth Reveal Sympatry of Theropod Dinosaurs in the Late Jurassic of Northern Germany

The Theropods of northern Germany 

by Hyrotrioskjan  Hyrotrioskjan.DeviantART.com
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158334  

Abstract

Remains of theropod dinosaurs are very rare in Northern Germany because the area was repeatedly submerged by a shallow epicontinental sea during the Mesozoic. Here, 80 Late Jurassic theropod teeth are described of which the majority were collected over decades from marine carbonates in nowadays abandoned and backfilled quarries of the 19th century. Eighteen different morphotypes (A—R) could be distinguished and 3D models based on micro-CT scans of the best examples of all morphotypes are included as supplements. The teeth were identified with the assistance of discriminant function analysis and cladistic analysis based on updated datamatrices. The results show that a large variety of theropod groups were present in the Late Jurassic of northern Germany. Identified specimens comprise basal Tyrannosauroidea, as well as Allosauroidea, Megalosauroidea cf. Marshosaurus, Megalosauridae cf. Torvosaurus and probably Ceratosauria. The formerly reported presence of Dromaeosauridae in the Late Jurassic of northern Germany could not be confirmed. Some teeth of this study resemble specimens described as pertaining to Carcharodontosauria (morphotype A) and Abelisauridae (morphotype K). This interpretation is however, not supported by discriminant function analysis and cladistic analysis. Two smaller morphotypes (N and Q) differ only in some probably size-related characteristics from larger morphotypes (B and C) and could well represent juveniles of adult specimens. The similarity of the northern German theropods with groups from contemporaneous localities suggests faunal exchange via land-connections in the Late Jurassic between Germany, Portugal and North America.

The Theropods of northern Germany 

  by Hyrotrioskjan  Hyrotrioskjan.DeviantART.com

Conclusions

This study reveals ecologic sympatry of several major clades of Theropoda in the Late Jurassic of Northern Germany. Basal Tyrannosauroidea, Allosauroidea, Megalosauridae and probably Ceratosauria can be established with a high probability. The presence of Dromaeosauridae could not be confirmed by DFA and cladistic analysis, pending more complete material of this clade. The smaller teeth of our study show no similarities with the only slightly younger theropod fauna of Southern Germany. Results of recent screen-washing activities at the Langenberg Quarry seem to confirm this interpretation. However, this may be due to sampling bias as the teeth of Sciurumimus, Compsognathus and Juravenator are small and could easily be overlooked when embedded in matrix. The theropod fauna from Northern Germany shares many similarities with specimens described from Portugal (morphotype B, E, F, G, K and N) and the North American Morrison Formation (morphotype J). This could imply that at least some faunal exchange via temporary land connections between these localities existed in the Late Jurassic.

Oliver Gerke and Oliver Wings. 2016. Multivariate and Cladistic Analyses of Isolated Teeth Reveal Sympatry of Theropod Dinosaurs in the Late Jurassic of Northern Germany. PLoS ONE.  11(7): e0158334. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158334

"The Theropods of northern Germany" by Hyrotrioskjan

  http://Hyrotrioskjan.DeviantART.com/art/The-theropods-of-northern-Germany-620388847

In their recent paper Oliver Gerke and Oliver Wings describe a number of teeth of theropod dinosaurs from the late Jurassic.

The analysis of these rare finds reveal a surprising diversity in this part of Europe, some of them come from the same locality as Europasaurus. Beside the expected allosaur like teeth the collection includes Torvosaurus and Marshosaurus like forms, but also ceratosaur teeth (here represented with a Ceratosaurus-like theropod, which isn't really correct)

and one or two morphotypes associated with basal tyrannosaurs.

Here some art for the press release and are normally five single pictures they are just glued together here.