Discovery of new carnivorous dinosaur fossils in Argentina

According to Conicet, the 'Koleken inakayali' dinosaur is closely related to Carnotaurus, one of the most characteristic 'killers' of the Upper Cretaceous period (about 69-71 million years ago) in South America.

On May 21, Argentina's National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (Conicet) announced that scientists in this country had discovered fossils of a new species of Abelisaurid meat-eating dinosaur family at an archaeological site. in the Chubut province of southern Argentina.

Technicians studied Koleken's fossilized vertebrae and femur. (Source: National Geographic).

This new dinosaur is named 'Koleken inakayali'.

Researcher Diego Pol said 'inakayali' comes from the name of a leader of the South American indigenous Tehuelche people.

While 'Koleken' in Tehuelche means 'coming from clay and water', it is associated with the fact that the sedimentary layer where the fossil remains were found was clay deposited in an estuary 69 million years ago. .

According to Conicet, the dinosaur 'Koleken inakayali' is closely related to Carnotaurus , one of the most characteristic 'killers' of the Upper Cretaceous period (about 69-71 million years ago) in South America.

However, 'Koleken inakayali' is smaller than Carnotaurus and does not have horns on its skull.
Paleontologists have found a partial vertebrate skeleton, along with some fossil fragments of the skull, hips, tail and legs of the 'Koleken inakayali' dinosaur.

Conicet said the discovery is an example of the diversity of Abelisaurid carnivorous dinosaurs in the Gondwana 'supercontinent' (which includes Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, the Arabian Peninsula, Australia - New Guinea and New Zealand today), and is important in allowing scientists to learn more about the evolution of large carnivores living together in an ecosystem.