#maastrichtian — Public Fediverse posts

Crocodile-relative hypercarnivore from prehistoric #Patagonia was over 3 meters long and weighed 250 kilos
https://phys.org/news/2025-08-crocodile-hypercarnivore-prehistoric-patagonia-meters.html

A new large hypercarnivorous crocodyliform from the #Maastrichtian of Southern Patagonia, Argentina https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0328561

"#NewSpecies of a large, crocodile-relative predator has been described via a remarkably well-preserved #fossil from Argentina... capable of devouring large prey—likely including medium-sized dinosaurs."

New #fossils reveal one of the smallest #titanosaurs ever found https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/new-dinosaur-titanosaur-patagonia-fossils by Riley Black

A new titanosaur from the La Colonia Formation (#Campanian-#Maastrichtian), Chubut Province, Argentina https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2024.2332997

"Ten times smaller than other #titanosaurs, Titanomachya gimenezi reveals new details about life in ancient #Patagonia before the asteroid wiped out the #dinosaurs."

New #Titanosaur Species Identified in Argentina https://www.sci.news/paleontology/titanomachya-gimenezi-12853.html

A new titanosaur from the La Colonia Formation (Campanian-#Maastrichtian), Chubut Province, #Argentina https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2024.2332997

"#Titanomachya gimenezi roamed our planet during the latest #Cretaceous period, around 66 million years ago. The ancient species was a member of a group of derived titanosaurian #sauropods called Lithostrotia and shared some features with the family Saltasauridae."

Duckbill dinosaur discovery in Morocco – expert unpacks the mystery of how they got there https://theconversation.com/duckbill-dinosaur-discovery-in-morocco-expert-unpacks-the-mystery-of-how-they-got-there-224649

A new small duckbilled dinosaur from #Morocco and #dinosaur diversity in the late #Maastrichtian of North Africa https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-53447-9

"Hundreds of km of ocean separated Africa and Europe in the #Cretaceous. Emergent islands may have helped to bridge the gap, but there’s little evidence for a land bridge. Duckbills couldn’t walk to Africa. That leaves us with an ocean crossing"

New #Mosasaur Species from Morocco Had Dagger-Like, Interlocking Teeth
https://www.sci.news/paleontology/khinjaria-acuta-12778.html

A bizarre new plioplatecarpine mosasaurid from the #Maastrichtian of #Morocco https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667124000430

"Some #mosasaurs had teeth to pierce prey, others to cut, tear, or crush. Now we have #Khinjaria acuta, with a short face full of huge, dagger-shaped teeth."

#Fossils of giant sea lizard with dagger-like teeth show how our oceans have fundamentally changed since the dinosaur era
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-fossils-giant-sea-lizard-dagger.html

A bizarre new plioplatecarpine mosasaurid from the #Maastrichtian of Morocco https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667124000430

"The findings show a dramatically different #ocean ecosystem to what we see today, with numerous giant top predators eating large prey, unlike modern ecosystems where a few apex predators—such as great white #sharks, #orca and leopard #seals—dominate"

#NewSpecies of Small Duckbilled Dinosaur Identified in Morocco https://www.sci.news/paleontology/minqaria-bata-12691.html

A new small duckbilled #dinosaur from #Morocco and dinosaur diversity in the late #Maastrichtian of North Africa https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-53447-9

"Duckbill #dinosaurs, or #hadrosaurids, were highly successful #herbivores that staged a major radiation in the Late #Cretaceous epoch... The presence of a hadrosaurid in Africa is perplexing, because Africa had been isolated by deep seaways since the mid-#Jurassic"

Morocco #dinosaur discovery gives clues on why they went extinct https://theconversation.com/morocco-dinosaur-discovery-gives-clues-on-why-they-went-extinct-221229

New #fossils of Abelisauridae (#Dinosauria: #Theropoda) from the upper #Maastrichtian of #Morocco, North Africa https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667123002057

"the African dinosaur fauna hints that at low latitudes, #dinosaurs were thriving, even diversifying. If so, that means dinosaurs were cut down in their prime; burning out rather than fading away."

A newly identified ‘Hell chicken’ species suggests #dinosaurs weren’t sliding toward #extinction before the fateful asteroid hit
https://theconversation.com/a-newly-identified-hell-chicken-species-suggests-dinosaurs-werent-sliding-toward-extinction-before-the-fateful-asteroid-hit-221482

A new oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the end-#Maastrichtian #HellCreekFormation of North America https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0294901

"new #discovery suggests that this #dinosaur group was not declining in diversity at the very end of the #Cretaceous."

#Fossils Reveal a Possible New #Tyrannosaur Species, the Closest Relative of T. Rex https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fossils-reveal-a-possible-new-tyrannosaur-species-the-closest-relative-of-t-rex-180983586/ @Smithsonianmag

A giant tyrannosaur from the #Campanian–#Maastrichtian of southern North America and the #evolution of tyrannosaurid gigantism https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-47011-0

"A partial skull originally thought to be from a T. rex might actually represent a previously unknown species... They have named this creature #Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, after the McRae Formation where it was discovered."

#Insects that lived alongside with the last #dinosaurs in Patagonia
https://communities.springernature.com/posts/insects-that-lived-alongside-with-the-last-dinosaurs-in-patagonia

A #Maastrichtian #insect assemblage from #Patagonia sheds light on #arthropod diversity previous to the K/Pg event https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05596-2

"Chitinous remains of three-dimensional preserved insects, are discovered in 70 million years old rocks in Southern Argentine Patagonia. They shed lights about insect communities that evolved previously to the end of the #Mesozoic Era"

Signs of wear on #mosasaurs' teeth show they were picky eaters who liked #seafood https://phys.org/news/2023-11-mosasaurs-teeth-picky-eaters-seafood.html

3D dental microwear in type-#Maastrichtian #mosasaur teeth: Femke M. Holwerda et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-42369-7

"#Prognathodon in particular, with its large cone-shaped teeth, appears to have had a surprising amount of #shellfish in its diet... #Plioplatecarpus, with narrow pointed teeth, showed a striking number of signs of wear. Perhaps it was also fond of #fish with strongly scaled bodies"

#Paleontologists Uncover #NewSpecies of #Titanosaur in #Egypt https://www.sci.news/paleontology/igai-semkhu-12251.html

A new #titanosaurian (#Dinosauria: #Sauropoda) from the Upper #Cretaceous (Campanian) #Quseir Formation of the #Kharga Oasis, Egypt https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2023.2199810

"Interestingly, all known #titanosaurians from #Campanian-#Maastrichtian deposits in northern #Africa and the then-conjoined #ArabianPeninsula were small to medium-sized for #sauropod #dinosaurs... The same is true for southern #Europe"

#Fossils of Two New Abelisaurid #Dinosaurs Uncovered in #Morocco https://www.sci.news/paleontology/moroccan-abelisaurid-dinosaurs-12207.html

New fossils of #Abelisauridae (#Dinosauria: #Theropoda) from the upper #Maastrichtian of Morocco, North Africa https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667123002057

"The two new #dinosaur species lived approximately 66 million years ago and had short, bulldog snouts and very short arms. They belonged to Abelisauridae, a family of #carnivorous dinosaurs that were counterparts to the #tyrannosaurs of the northern hemisphere."

#NewSpecies of Duck-Billed #Dinosaur Identified in Texas
https://www.sci.news/paleontology/malefica-deckerti-11596.html Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667122002804

"Although the material is fragmentary, the new species from #Texas indicates that basally-branching #hadrosaurids were also distributed in southern #Laramidia, in addition to #Appalachia and #Eurasia, evidencing the widespread occurrence of these early #hadrosaurid lineages in the northern hemisphere spanning the uppermost #Santonian through the Upper #Maastrichtian."

A heavily worn and damaged #theropod #dinosaur tooth from the famous #Tyrannosaurus rex. The #fossil was found out of situ in 5 pieces from the #Maastrichtian aged Hell Creek Formation deposits in Garfield County, Montana, United States and repaired with Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) in acetone. Despite its condition, this T. rex tooth has pristine distal serrations and a respectable size of around 2.2". The tooth may have been around or over 3" had it been complete.

New Species of #Dinosaur-Era #Frog Identified in Brazil https://www.sci.news/paleontology/baurubatrachus-santosdoroi-11518.html

A New Species of #Baurubatrachus (Anura, Neobatrachia) from the Late #Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of #Brazil Furnishes Evidence on the Diversity of this Bizarre Genus: Paula Muzzopappa et al. https://bioone.org/journals/ameghiniana/volume-59/issue-5/AMGH.29.07.2022.3505/A-New-Species-of-Baurubatrachus-Anura-Neobatrachia-from-the-Late/10.5710/AMGH.29.07.2022.3505.short

Baurubatrachus is an extinct genus of #prehistoric #frogs in the superfamily Hyloidea. These #amphibians lived in what is now Brazil during the #Maastrichtian, (72-66 mya).