Aerosteon
"air bone"
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Megaraptoridae
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Sereno et al. 2008
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
Rivers, lakes and floodplains spread across its part of Argentina. Fossil palms occur in the Anacleto Formation, along with Aucasaurus, Gasparinisaura and Neuquensaurus.
Field notes
About Aerosteon
What it was like
Aerosteon was a large meat eater from the megaraptoran group, relatives of Megaraptor and Australovenator. Its bones are full of hollow spaces that held air sacs, much like the bones of living birds.
Those air-filled bones are the reason for its name. They suggest it breathed with a bird-like system of air sacs, which may have helped it take in oxygen and kept its skeleton light.
Its world
Aerosteon lived about 84 to 72 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Argentina. Its bones come from the Anacleto Formation, home to the abelisaurid Aucasaurus, the small plant eater Gasparinisaura and titanosaurs such as Neuquensaurus and Antarctosaurus.
How it was found
Sereno and colleagues named Aerosteon in 2008 from a single partial skeleton. Scientists are still working out exactly where megaraptorans sit on the theropod family tree.
Field gallery
More views of Aerosteon
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Aerosteon.
The evidence
The science behind Aerosteon
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial skeleton preserves bones from the back of the skull, neck, backbone and pelvis.
- Air-filled chambers inside its bones supported a breathing system with air sacs, much like that of birds.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing snout and much of the jaw are restored using Murusraptor and Megaraptor, with a long, low head.
- Skin and lips are inferred from other theropods.
Still unknown
- The exact shape of its snout and teeth.
- Its skin covering and color.
- Exactly where megaraptorans belong on the theropod family tree.
Discovery timeline
- 2008Named itSereno et al.
- 2014Close relativePorfiri et al.
- 2016Close relativeCoria & Currie
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Aerosteon
Named it
Described a partial skeleton with air-filled bones and linked its breathing system to the air sacs of birds.
Evidence for Avian Intrathoracic Air Sacs in a New Predatory Dinosaur from Argentina. PLoS ONE 3: e3303
Read the paper : Evidence for Avian Intrathoracic Air Sacs in a New Predatory Dinosaur from Argentina (opens in a new tab)Close relative
A young Megaraptor preserved a long, low skull, providing a comparison for the missing face of Aerosteon.
Juvenile specimen of Megaraptor (Dinosauria, Theropoda) sheds light about tyrannosauroid radiation. Cretaceous Research 51: 35-55
Read the paper : Juvenile specimen of Megaraptor (Dinosauria, Theropoda) sheds light about tyrannosauroid radiation (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described Murusraptor and compared its skull and backbone with Aerosteon, helping restore missing parts of the head.
A New Megaraptoran Dinosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Megaraptoridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. PLOS ONE 11: e0157973
Read the paper : A New Megaraptoran Dinosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Megaraptoridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Megaraptoridae
Sources: Wikidata