Ilokelesia
"flesh lizard"
- Lived
- Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Abelisauridae
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Coria and Salgado 2000
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
Habitat
It lived in what is now Argentina, on land preserved in the Huincul Formation. Other dinosaurs from these rocks include Argentinosaurus, Mapusaurus and Skorpiovenator.
Field notes
About Ilokelesia
What it was like
Ilokelesia was a medium-sized abelisaur, a two-legged hunter with a short head and tiny arms. It is known from bits of the skull and skeleton.
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 plant eater Argentinosaurus and the hunters Mapusaurus, Meraxes and Skorpiovenator.
How it was found
Coria and Salgado named Ilokelesia in 2000, from a single find.
Field gallery
More views of Ilokelesia
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
The evidence
The science behind Ilokelesia
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Parts of the back of the skull, vertebrae and toe bones preserve a fragmentary abelisaur.
- Its foot claws were stout and asymmetric, with concave undersides and relatively blunt tips.
- Repeated skull bones show that the material includes more than one individual.
Borrowed from relatives
- Majungasaurus provides a comparison for the missing snout and jaws.
- The tiny arms and reduced hands are restored from abelisaurs such as Majungasaurus.
Still unknown
- The exact shape of the front of its skull.
- The proportions of its arms and legs.
- Its color and skin pattern.
Discovery timeline
- 2000Named itCoria & Salgado
- 2008Family treeCarrano & Sampson
- 2012Close relativeBurch & Carrano
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Ilokelesia
Named it
Named Ilokelesia from fragmentary skull, backbone and foot bones from Argentina.
A basal Abelisauria Novas, 1992 (Theropoda–Ceratosauria) from the Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. GAIA 15: 89-102
No link available
Family tree
Revised the skull interpretation and diagnosis of Ilokelesia and compared its place among abelisaurs.
The Phylogeny of Ceratosauria (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6: 183-236
Read the paper : The Phylogeny of Ceratosauria (Dinosauria: Theropoda) (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described the tiny forearms and reduced hands of Majungasaurus, a comparison for the missing arms of Ilokelesia.
An articulated pectoral girdle and forelimb of the abelisaurid theropod Majungasaurus crenatissimus from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32: 1-16
Read the paper : An articulated pectoral girdle and forelimb of the abelisaurid theropod Majungasaurus crenatissimus from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Abelisauridae
Sources: Wikidata