[dinosaur] Saurornitholestes cranial anatomy from new specimens

Ben Creisler
[email protected]


A new paper:


Philip J. Currie & David C. Evans (2019)
Cranial Anatomy of New Specimens of Saurornitholestes langstoni
(Dinosauria, Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae) from the Dinosaur Park Formation
(Campanian) of Alberta.
The Anatomical Record (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1002_ar.24241&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=NxavVYUi8jnmmbPpnMRg0MbLbtFDOpa0bLnn8a2hacM&s=u6XoJFtnzxAo8P0-sWnjL_Bzz8uGpW1AUC8z6mzSZ08&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com_doi_10.1002_ar.24241&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=NxavVYUi8jnmmbPpnMRg0MbLbtFDOpa0bLnn8a2hacM&s=ywA7uxl3RL47tDvVAL0RB0AjEUck0fPTm2qF34pASyE&e= 


The holotype of the dromaeosaurid Saurornitholestes langstoni was described
in 1978 on the basis of fewer than 30 associated cranial and postcranial
bones of a single individual from Dinosaur Provincial Park. Four additional
partial skeletons of Saurornitholestes were recovered from Campanian (Upper
Cretaceous) beds of Alberta and Montana over the next 25 years, although
reasonably complete skeletons remained elusive, and virtually nothing was
known about the skull. The lack of truly diagnostic material has been
problematic, and the relationships of Saurornitholestes to other
dromaeosaurids have been difficult to resolve because of the incomplete
knowledge of its anatomy. In 2014, an almost complete skeleton, including
the skull, was collected less than a kilometer from where the holotype had
been found. Although similar in body size to Velociraptor, the facial
region of the skull is relatively shorter, taller, and wider. The nasals
are pneumatic. The premaxillary teeth are distinctive, and teeth previously
identified in the Dinosaur Park Formation as Zapsalis abradens can now be
identified as the second premaxillary tooth of S. langstoni. Morphology and
wear patterns suggest that these may have been specialized for preening
feathers. Many traits define a Campanian North American clade,
Saurornitholestinae, that is distinct from an Asian clade that includes
Velociraptor (Velociraptorinae). This new information on the skull allows a
more complete evaluation of its systematic position within the
Dromaeosauridae and supports the suggestion of at least two major faunal
interchanges between Asia and North America during the Cretaceous.


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