Huinculsaurus
"Huincul lizard"
- Lived
- Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Noasauridae
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Baiano et al. 2020
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
Habitat
River channels and floodplains in what is now Argentina. Other dinosaurs from the Huincul Formation include Argentinosaurus, Mapusaurus and Meraxes.
Field notes
About Huinculsaurus
What it was like
Huinculsaurus was a small meat eater, a noasaur, known only from five backbones. Its bones are light and full of air spaces.
Its world
It lived in the Cretaceous in what is now Argentina. Its bones come from the Huincul Formation, where it shared the land with the giant Argentinosaurus and the big hunters Mapusaurus and Meraxes.
How it was found
Baiano and colleagues named Huinculsaurus in 2020, from a single find.
Field gallery
More views of Huinculsaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
The evidence
The science behind Huinculsaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A small set of associated vertebrae comes from the rear of the back and the front of the hip region.
- The back vertebrae have openings for air spaces and distinctive bony ridges around them.
Borrowed from relatives
- Elaphrosaurus provides a comparison for a slender body with long legs, a possible shape for Huinculsaurus.
Still unknown
- The shape of its skull and whether adults had teeth or a beak.
- Its adult size and the proportions of its limbs.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2016Close relativeRauhut & Carrano
- 2017Close relativeWang et al.
- 2020Named itBaiano, Coria & Cau
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Huinculsaurus
Close relative
Redescribed the long-necked, long-legged Elaphrosaurus and placed it among noasaurids, establishing the group later proposed to include Huinculsaurus.
The theropod dinosaurElaphrosaurus bambergiJanensch, 1920, from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru, Tanzania. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 178: 546-610
Read the paper : The theropod dinosaurElaphrosaurus bambergiJanensch, 1920, from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru, Tanzania (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Showed that the related Limusaurus lost its teeth as it grew, a useful comparison when considering the missing jaws of Huinculsaurus.
Extreme Ontogenetic Changes in a Ceratosaurian Theropod. Current Biology 27: 144-148
Read the paper : Extreme Ontogenetic Changes in a Ceratosaurian Theropod (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Huinculsaurus from associated back and hip vertebrae of an immature animal, and linked it to Elaphrosaurus.
A new abelisauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Huincul Formation (lower Upper Cretaceous, Neuquén Basin) of Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Research 110: 104408
Read the paper : A new abelisauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Huincul Formation (lower Upper Cretaceous, Neuquén Basin) of Patagonia, Argentina (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Noasauridae
Sources: Wikidata