Mapusaurus roseae

Mapusaurus roseae was one of the largest predatory dinosaurs of South America. Hundreds of disarticulated bones from a single Huincul Formation bonebed represent at least seven individuals, from juveniles to very large adults. Although no complete skeleton is known, their combined remains reveal a deep, narrow skull, blade-like teeth and the long-legged body plan of a giant carcharodontosaurid closely related to Giganotosaurus.

Its fossils occur between approximately 97 and 93.5 million years ago. Values shown here are approximate and reflect the current curated seed dataset.

Mapusaurus had a relatively low, narrow skull with heavily textured facial bones and laterally compressed, serrated teeth suited to slicing flesh. The arms were short, while the pelvis and hind limbs were built to support a multi-tonne biped. Its vertebrae contained air spaces that reduced skeletal weight. The known bones come from multiple animals and must be combined cautiously when reconstructing an adult.

• Deep, narrow skull with textured facial bones
• Laterally compressed, blade-like serrated teeth
• Tall neural spines along the back
• Air-filled spaces within the vertebrae
• Short forelimbs and powerful hind limbs
• Large body size comparable to Giganotosaurus

The Argentine–Canadian Dinosaur Project excavated the Cañadón del Gato bonebed in Neuquén Province between 1997 and 2001. Rodolfo Coria and Philip Currie named Mapusaurus roseae in 2006. The holotype is an isolated right nasal, MCF-PVPH-108.1, accompanied by hundreds of referred bones. Mapu means land or earth in Mapudungun; roseae refers both to the rose-coloured rocks and Rose Letwin, a supporter of the project.

Discovery credit: Argentine–Canadian Dinosaur Project field team.

Naming authors: Rodolfo A. Coria, Philip J. Currie.

The Huincul Formation preserves river channels, floodplains and seasonally dry woodland in Cretaceous Patagonia. Mapusaurus shared this ecosystem with the enormous sauropod Argentinosaurus and a diverse community of smaller dinosaurs, crocodyliforms and other vertebrates.

The accumulation of several Mapusaurus individuals in one bonebed is unusual, but it does not by itself prove coordinated pack hunting. A drought, flood, predator trap or repeated use of the site could also have produced the assemblage. Its blade-like teeth identify it as a large-prey carnivore, while specific hunting tactics remain unknown.

• The type specimen is a single right nasal bone, supported by hundreds of referred bones from the same site.
• At least seven differently sized individuals were represented in the original description.
• Its genus name uses the Mapudungun word mapu, meaning land or earth.
• Mapusaurus lived in the same formation as Argentinosaurus.

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1. 01
   The Paleobiology Database

   Open source
2. 02
   A new carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina

   Rodolfo A. Coria, Philip J. Currie · Geodiversitas 28(1), 71–118 · 2006

   Open source
3. 03
   Mapusaurus

   Natural History Museum, London

   Open source