Describer

Calvo, Rubilar-Roger, Moreno, 2004

Time

Cretaceous Early Cretaceous Late Albian Cenomanian

Classification

Saurischia Theropoda Abelisauridae

Diet

Carnivore

Fossilsite

Candeleros Formation, Rio Limay Group, northwest Patagonia, Neuquén Province, Argentina

Length

7-8 meter (hipheight 2 meter)

Info

Genus - Typespecies - Skull

A preliminar cladistic analysis placed Ekrixinatosaurus (discovered in 1999) together with Majungatholus and Camotaurini; and the sister group is Ilokelesia.The presence of this specimen in Albian-Cenomanian beds supports the early divergence (pre-Senonian) of this clade, and the hypothesis of the presence of Abelisauridae in continental Africa. The present distribution of Abelisauridae indicates: 1) a vicariance of this clade based on a pre-Cenomanian pan-Gondwanic distrib­ution; 2) dispersion throughout terrestrial bridges. ln both cases, the absence of Abelisauridae in conti­nental Africa can be considered a bias of the fossil record.

Holotype

MUCPv-294 a well preserved disariculated skeleton with elements including left and partial right maxillae; basiscranium, both dentaries, teeth, cervical, a dorsal, sacral and caudal vertebrae, haemal arches, ribs, ilia, pubis and proximal ischia, left and distal end of right femur, left tibia, left astragalus and calcaneum, proximal end of left fibula and right tibia, metatarsals, phalanges and a pedal ungual.

The skull was probably 83 cm in length.

Ekrixinatosaurus: from the greek Ekrixi that means explotion, from latin nato that means born and from greek saurus that means lizard \\\\\\\"lizard born from a explotion\\\\\\\"The species novasi honor the paleontologist Fernando Novas, for the important improvement in the study in the Abelisaurids group.