How to translate text using browser tools
10 December 2021 Ornithopod Jaws from the Lower Cretaceous Eumeralla Formation, Victoria, Australia, and Their Implications for Polar Neornithischian Dinosaur Diversity
Ruairidh J. Duncan, Alistair R. Evans, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Thomas H. Rich, Stephen F. Poropat
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Ornithopod dinosaurs are relatively common in the Cretaceous of Australia, particularly in the state of Victoria, which has yielded five taxa to date: two from the upper Strzelecki Group (upper Barremian–lower Aptian), and three from the Eumeralla Formation (upper Aptian–upper Albian). Whereas four of these are based solely on cranial material, Diluvicursor pickeringi is represented by a partial postcranium and is the only ornithopod specimen heretofore reported from the Eric the Red West (ETRW) site. Herein, we describe nine ornithopod dentulous elements from the Eumeralla Formation: seven from ETRW, and two from nearby sites. The four ETRW maxillae are divided into three morphotypes that are morphologically compatible with Leaellynasaura amicagraphica, Atlascopcosaurus loadsi, and cf. Galleonosaurus dorisae, respectively. Although this implies that Diluvicursor might not represent a distinct taxon, this is circumstantial. The new Leaellynasaura maxillae are evidently adult exemplars, contrasting with the juvenile holotype, whereas the sole Atlascopcosaurus maxilla is more complete than all previously referred specimens; consequently, revised diagnoses of both taxa are presented. Finally, the presence in the Eumeralla Formation of cf. Galleonosaurus—otherwise known only from the upper Strzelecki Group—implies that this taxon persisted from the Barremian to the Albian, and potentially indicates remarkable environmental stability in southeast Australia during the late Early Cretaceous.

© by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Ruairidh J. Duncan, Alistair R. Evans, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Thomas H. Rich, and Stephen F. Poropat "Ornithopod Jaws from the Lower Cretaceous Eumeralla Formation, Victoria, Australia, and Their Implications for Polar Neornithischian Dinosaur Diversity," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 41(3), (10 December 2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1946551
Received: 14 November 2020; Accepted: 8 June 2021; Published: 10 December 2021
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top