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Map of South Australia showing the opal fields around Coober Pedy and Andamooka (shaded) relative to capital cities (bold) and regional centres (from Robertson & Scott 1990).
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Terrestrial reptile remains are very rare in the Lower Cretaceous of South Australia, but include the holotype of the small theropod Kakuru. Here, we review this taxon and other archosaur specimens collected from the Bulldog Shale (Aptian) of Andamooka and Coober Pedy. Kakuru possesses no unique characters or character state combinations and is reg...
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... P17926, SAM P18010, SAM P36601, SAM P39683) or Coober Pedy (NMV M23406, SAM P35321), situated within the Eromanga Basin, northeastern South Australia (e.g. Krieg & Rogers 1995, Alexander et al . 2006; Fig. 1). Precise locality and stratigraphical details are unavailable for the specimens as they were recovered by opal miners or purchased from private collectors who did not provide such data. Further, some confusion exists regarding the primary source beds of the opaline material. Molnar (1980) listed three forma- tions as the potential opal-bearing units: the Cadna-owie Formation, the Bulldog Shale and the Marree Formation. Subsequently, Molnar & Pledge (1980; see also Molnar 1991) specified that the type and referred specimens of Kakuru were obtained from the Marree Formation, a designation fol- lowed by most other workers (e.g. Long 1998, Holtz et al . 2004, Weishampel et al . 2004, Carrano 2008). Weishampel et al . (2004) listed an indeterminate ornithopod (NMV M23406) from the Cadna-owie Formation, but this record is based on selective use of the information provided by Molnar (1980), who mentioned several possible source horizons for this specimen and did not attribute it to any particular unit. Detailed lithostratigraphic evaluation has now firmly placed the Coober Pedy and Andamooka opaliferous beds within the Bulldog Shale (a constituent of the Marree Subgroup, which was formerly called the Marree Formation: see Krieg & Rogers 1995, Cotton et al . 2006); thus, all of the aforementioned archosaurian remains are regarded as pertaining to this unit herein (see Alley & Pledge 2000). Microfossils suggest an Aptian–lower Albian age for the Bulldog Shale (Krieg & Rogers 1995, Alexander et al . 2006); however, an Aptian age is usually proposed for the opal-bearing strata on the basis of molluscan remains (see Henderson et al . 2000, Alley et al . 2006). Many of the specimens described herein are currently mounted and on display in the South Australian Museum. Consequently, they can not easily be photographed. Images of the original specimens are, therefore, supplemented with photographs of high- definition casts in standard views (Figs 2, 3), and by detailed measurements (Table 1). ‘Kakuru kujani’. The holotype of Kakuru was described in detail by Molnar & Pledge (1980), and most authors have regarded it as a valid taxon (e.g. Long 1998, Holtz et al . 2004; Figs 2A–E, 3). Initially, Kakuru was considered closely related to Coelurus (Molnar 1980, Molnar & Pledge 1980) but, subsequently, it has been compared with avimimids (Molnar 1991, Holtz et al . 2004) and abelisauroids (Rauhut 2005). Molnar & Pledge (1980) provided a brief diagnosis of Kakuru , based on the morphology of the astragalar facet, the presence of a medial SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ...
Citations
... Kakuru kujani has been interpreted as a coelurosaurian, an abelisauroid, an indeterminate averostran or tetanuran theropod (Rauhut 2005, Agnolin et al. 2010, Barrett et al. 2010a, Rauhut 2012 Holotype UWA 82469, an incomplete distal left tibia (Fig. 9C). ...
In 2020, the Australasian palaeontological association Australasian Palaeontologists (AAP) joined the Australian government-supported Australian National Species List (auNSL) initiative to compile the first Australian Fossil National Species List (auFNSL) for the region. The goal is to assemble comprehensive systematic data on all vertebrate, invertebrate and plant fossil taxa described to date, and to present the information both within a continuously updated open-access online framework, and as a series of primary reference articles in AAP’s flagship journal Alcheringa. This paper spearheads these auFNSL Alcheringa publications with an annotated checklist of Australian Mesozoic tetrapods. Complete synonymy, type material, source locality, geological age and bibliographical information are provided for 111 species formally named as of 2022. In addition, chronostratigraphically arranged inventories of all documented Australian Mesozoic tetrapod fossil occurrences are presented with illustrations of significant, exceptionally preserved and/or diagnostic specimens. The most diverse order-level clades include temnospondyl amphibians (34 species), saurischian (13 species) and ornithischian (12 species) dinosaurs (excluding ichnotaxa), and plesiosaurian marine reptiles (11 species). However, numerous other groups collectively span the earliest Triassic (earliest Induan) to Late Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) and incorporate antecedents of modern Australian lineages, such as chelonioid and chelid turtles and monotreme mammals. Although scarce in comparison to records from other continents, Australia’s Mesozoic tetrapod assemblages are globally important because they constitute higher-palaeolatitude faunas that evince terrestrial and marine ecosystem evolution near the ancient South Pole. The pace of research on these assemblages has also accelerated substantially over the last 20 years, and serves to promote fossil geoheritage as an asset for scientific, cultural and economic development. The auFNSL augments the accessibility and utility of these palaeontological resources and provides a foundation for ongoing exploration into Australia’s unique natural history.
... This taxon was based on a relatively large left mandibular plate, collected ex situ " … on the floor of Lake Phibbs, just south of Lake Eyre, and undoubtedly came from the outcrops of the nearby Aptian Bulldog Shale" (Long, 1985:49) (Fig. 1A). The specimen is quite poorly preserved, not replaced with opal like many vertebrate fossils in the region (Kear, 2006;Barrett et al., 2010). Recent weathering and abrasion have blurred some of the superficial structures, including the descending lamina over the basal surface. ...
A chimaeroid species, Edaphodon eyrensis Long, 1985 (Holocephali, Chimaeroidei), from the Lower Cretaceous Bulldog Shale of the Eromanga Basin, South Australia, is reassessed as Ptyktoptychion eyrensis (Long, 1985), comb. nov. This is the oldest representative of the endemic Australian chimaeroid genus Ptyktoptychion Lees, 1986. An ancestor of this genus could be the Early Cretaceous chimaeroid Ischyodus thurmanni Pictet and Campiche, 1858 from the northern hemisphere. Ptyktoptychion eyrensis survived in Australia in southern polar environment conditions.
... However, morphometrics require: (1) the recognition of diagnostic landmarks, (2) the generation of large data sets to detect clusters and accurately describe major components of morphological variation, and, (3) in the case of missing data estimation, that the available landmarks are sufficiently and adequately sampled. As a result, such approaches are often outside the scope of fundamental palaeontological research that aims to identify and interpret fragmentary specimens from geographic regions and temporal time-intervals known to produce important but fragmentary specimens, such as that of the Australian Mesozoic terrestrial fossil record (Von Huene, 1932;Agnolin et al., 2010;White et al., 2013White et al., , 2020Molnar & Pledge, 1980;Molnar, Flannery & Rich, 1981;Barrett, Kear & Benson, 2010;Rich & Vickers-Rich, 1994Benson et al., 2010aBenson et al., , 2010bBenson et al., , 2012Herne, Nair & Salisbury, 2010;Rich et al., 2014;Poropat et al., 2018Poropat et al., , 2019Long & Molnar, 1998;Fitzgerald et al., 2012;Brougham, Smith & Bell, 2019;Bell et al., 2016). ...
Classifying isolated vertebrate bones to a high level of taxonomic precision can be difficult. Many of Australia’s Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrate fossil-bearing deposits, for example, produce large numbers of isolated bones and very few associated or articulated skeletons. Identifying these often fragmentary remains beyond high-level taxonomic ranks, such as Ornithopoda or Theropoda, is difficult and those classified to lower taxonomic levels are often debated. The ever-increasing accessibility to 3D-based comparative techniques has allowed palaeontologists to undertake a variety of shape analyses, such as geometric morphometrics, that although powerful and often ideal, require the recognition of diagnostic landmarks and the generation of sufficiently large data sets to detect clusters and accurately describe major components of morphological variation. As a result, such approaches are often outside the scope of basic palaeontological research that aims to simply identify fragmentary specimens. Herein we present a workflow in which pairwise comparisons between fragmentary fossils and better known exemplars are digitally achieved through three-dimensional mapping of their surface profiles and the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. To showcase this methodology, we compared a fragmentary theropod ungual (NMV P186153) from Victoria, Australia, identified as a neovenatorid, with the manual unguals of the megaraptoran Australovenator wintonensis (AODF604). We discovered that NMV P186153 was a near identical match to AODF604 manual ungual II-3, differing only in size, which, given their 10–15Ma age difference, suggests stasis in megaraptoran ungual morphology throughout this interval. Although useful, our approach is not free of subjectivity; care must be taken to eliminate the effects of broken and incomplete surfaces and identify the human errors incurred during scaling, such as through replication. Nevertheless, this approach will help to evaluate and identify fragmentary remains, adding a quantitative perspective to an otherwise qualitative endeavour.
... Another astragalus (NMV P150070) from the upper Strzelecki Group (lower Aptian) of Victoria (Molnar et al., 1981;Wagstaff et al., 2020), now widely regarded as a megaraptoran Carrano et al., 2012;Novas et al., 2013), was once interpreted as an abelisauroid . Kakuru kujani (SAM P17926) from the Bulldog Shale (Aptian) of South Australia (Molnar and Pledge, 1980) has previously been assigned to Abelisauroidea (Rauhut, 2005), but is now regarded as an indeterminate averostran or tetanuran (Barrett et al., 2010), whereas Rapator ornitholestoides (NHMUK R3718) from the Griman Creek Formation (Cenomanian) of New South Wales (Huene, 1932;Bell et al., 2019) was once assigned to Abelisauridae (Molnar, 1992), but is now classified as a megaraptoran White et al., 2013). Finally, a fragmentary cervical vertebra (LRF 3050.AR) from the Griman Creek Formation was recently classified within Noasauridae (Brougham et al., 2020). ...
Elaphrosaurinae is an enigmatic clade of gracile ceratosaurian theropod dinosaurs known from the Late Jurassic of Africa (Elaphrosaurus bambergi) and Asia (e.g., Limusaurus inextricabilis), and the early Late Cretaceous of Argentina (Huinculsaurus montesi). Elaphrosaurinae is often placed within Noasauridae as the sister taxon to Noasaurinae, a clade of small-bodied theropods that lived in South America, Africa, Madagascar and India throughout much of the Cretaceous. Herein, we report the first evidence of Elaphrosaurinae from Australia: a nearly complete middle cervical vertebra from the upper Lower Cretaceous (lower Albian) Eumeralla Formation of Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia. The fact that this site would have been situated at ~76°S towards the end of the Early Cretaceous (~110–107 Ma) implies that elaphrosaurines were capable of tolerating near-polar palaeoenvironments, whereas its age indicates that elaphrosaurines persisted in Australia until at least the late Early Cretaceous. The new Australian elaphrosaurine, in tandem with the recently described Huinculsaurus montesi from the Cenomanian–Turonian of Argentina, implies that the spatiotemporal distribution of Elaphrosaurinae has heretofore been greatly underestimated. Historic confusion of elaphrosaurines with coelurosaurs, especially ornithomimosaurs, coupled with our generally poor understanding of noasaurid evolution, might explain the apparent dearth of fossils of this theropod clade worldwide.
... There has also been suggestion that Kakuru kujani, known from a partial tibia from the Aptian Marree Formation of South Australia 23 pertains to an abelisauroid based on the presence of a vertical median ridge on the distal tibia 24 . For the reasons stated above, this evidence is insufficient for referral of Kakuru to Abelisauroidea; subsequent revisions of this material concluded that Kakuru could only be referred to an indeterminate position within either Averostra or Tetanurae 25,26 . ...
The diversity of Australia’s theropod fauna from the ‘mid’-Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian) is distinctly biased towards the medium-sized megaraptorids, despite the preponderance of abelisauroids in the younger but latitudinally equivalent Patagonian theropod fauna. Here, we present new evidence for the presence of ceratosaurian, and specifically abelisauroid, theropods from the Cenomanian Griman Creek Formation of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. A partial cervical vertebra is described that bears a mediolaterally concave ventral surface of the centrum delimited by sharp ventrolateral ridges that contact the parapophyses. Among theropods, this feature has been reported only in a cervical vertebra attributed to the noasaurid Noasaurus. We also reappraise evidence recently cited against the ceratosaurian interpretation of a recently described astragalocalcaneum from the upper Barremian–lower Aptian San Remo Member of the upper Strzelecki Group in Victoria. Inclusion of the Lightning Ridge cervical vertebra and Victorian astragalocalcaneum into a revised phylogenetic analysis focused on elucidating ceratosaurian affinities reveals support for placement of both specimens within Noasauridae, which among other characters is diagnosed by the presence of a medial eminence on the ascending process of the astragalus. The Lightning Ridge and Victorian specimens simultaneously represent the first noasaurids reported from Australia and the astragalocalcaneum is considered the earliest known example of a noasaurid in the world to date. The recognition of Australian noasaurids further indicates a more widespread Gondwanan distribution of the clade outside of South America, Madagascar and India consistent with the timing of the fragmentation of the supercontinent.
... Although at least six Australian non-avian theropod taxa have been named, most of these are represented by only a single element and are regarded-although not always universallyas nomina dubia. These are: Rapator ornitholestoides, known only from a metacarpal I [2][3][4]; Walgettosuchus woodwardi, represented by a partial caudal vertebra [2,3]; Kakuru kujani, restricted to an incomplete tibia [3,[5][6][7]; Timimus hermani, known only from a femur [3,[8][9][10][11][12]; and Ozraptor subotaii, a distal tibia [3,6,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. The only exception is Australovenator wintonensis, represented by a partial skeleton [4,[21][22][23][24][25][26], which was initially classified as an indeterminate allosauroid but has since been universally allied with Megaraptor and its kin within Megaraptoridae [10,27,28]. ...
The holotype specimen of the megaraptorid Australovenator wintonensis, from the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation (Rolling Downs Group, Eromanga Basin) of central Queensland, is the most complete non-avian theropod found in Australia to date. In fact, the holotype of A. wintonensis and isolated megaraptorid teeth (possibly referable to Australovenator) constitute the only theropod body fossils reported from the Winton Formation. Herein, we describe a new fragmentary megaraptorid specimen from the Winton Formation, found near the type locality of A. wintonensis. The new specimen comprises parts of two vertebrae, two metatarsals, a pedal phalanx and multiple unidentifiable bone fragments. Although the new megaraptorid specimen is poorly preserved, it includes the only megaraptorid vertebrae known from Queensland. The presence of pleurocoels and highly pneumatic caudal centra with camerate and camellate internal structures permit the assignment of these remains to Megaraptora gen. et sp. indet. A morphological comparison revealed that the distal end of metatarsal II and the partial pedal phalanx II-1 of the new specimen are morphologically divergent from Australovenator. This might indicate the presence of a second megaraptorid taxon in the Winton Formation, or possibly intraspecific variation.
... For example, in most coelurosaurs (e.g. Tyrannosaurus: Brochu, 2002;Tanycolagreus: Carpenter et al., 2005), the spinosaurid Suchomimus (Rauhut, 2003), the basal tetanuran Chuandongocoelurus (Barrett et al., 2010), and megaraptorans , in which the astragalar ascending process is high, laminar, and transversely wide, the astragalar facet of the tibia turns to be an incipient vertical ridge. ...
... Not to scale. basal abelisauroids, some basal tetanurans, megaraptorans, derived coelurosaurs (Barrett et al., 2010) (Fig. 2B, D, and E), and MB. R.2351 (Fig. 1A). ...
We review here the phylogenetic relationships of a theropod distal end of tibia (MB. R.2351) from the Middle Jurassic Stonesfield Slate (Taunton Formation, middle Bathonian) of Oxfordshire, England. This specimen was previously described as a small basal tetanuran, but our reinterpretation suggests that it was an early member of the Abelisauroidea. The new assignment is supported by the presence of an apomorphic vertical facet for the reception of the ascending process of the astragalus, sub-rectangular anterior scar of the astragalar ascending process, median vertical ridge in the scar for the reception of the ascending process of the astragalus, and posterolateral process not distinctly offset from the lateral margin of the shaft. In particular, the Stonesfield specimen shares an overall morphology and a unique combination of apomorphies with the Middle Jurassic Australian abelisauroid Ozraptor. Nevertheless, both specimens differ in some punctual features. MB. R.2351 constitutes the oldest evidence of an abelisauroid outside Gondwana and indicates that the group had achieved a Pangean distribution during, at least, the Middle Jurassic. Thus, the initial diversification of abelisauroids would have occurred earlier than previously thought. Accordingly, the Middle and Late Jurassic Pangean distribution of abelisauroids implies that the absence of the group in Cretaceous Asiamerican assemblages would reflect a regional extinction, in which a competitive replacement with coelurosaurs (e.g. tyrannosauroids) is surely one of the hypotheses that should be tested in future studies.
... Alleged ceratosaurs have previously been reported from Australia: Rauhut (2005) referred the Middle Jurassic Ozraptor subotaii Long and Molnar 1998 to the Abelisauroidea, and Agnolin et al. (2010) referred an Early Cretaceous 'Allosaurus' astragalus (Molnar et al. 1981) to Abelisauroidea. Subsequent study has shown that the former material is not diagnostic (Carrano and Sampson 2008; Agnolin et al. 2010; Barrett et al. 2010) and that the 'Allosaurus' astragalus is assignable to a neovenatorid allosauroid (Hocknull et al. 2009; Benson et al. 2010a; see discussion below). Thus, the fossil described here represents the first diagnostic evidence for the Ceratosauria in Australia and sheds light on the diversity and biogeography of dinosaurs in eastern Gondwana. ...
The basal theropod dinosaur clade Ceratosauria, and its subclade Abelisauroidea, is characteristic of late Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate faunas in western Gondwana (South America, Africa, Madagascar, and India) and Europe. Yet unambiguous records of ceratosaurs have hitherto been absent from Australia, where the theropod assemblage appears to include several typically Laurasian clades. Here, we report the first evidence of ceratosaurs (and potentially abelisauroids) from eastern Gondwana--a diagnostic astragalocalcaneum from the Aptian (121-125 Ma) of Victoria, Australia. Ceratosauria thus occurred in both western and eastern Gondwana during the Early Cretaceous. This fossil adds to the poorly known dinosaur fauna of Australia, a major clade of basal theropods, emphasising that its mid-Cretaceous theropod diversity was surprisingly cosmopolitan despite relative geographic isolation, including clades that have been thought to be typical of both Gondwana and Laurasia--Ceratosauria, Spinosauridae, Carcharodontosauria, Tyrannosauroidea, and Deinonychosauria. Such a contemporaneous association of theropod clades is unknown from other Gondwanan continents and questions the views that the late Mesozoic dinosaur fauna of Australia was dominated by Gondwanan or Laurasian elements, extreme isolation, relictualism, and/or novelty as a 'centre of origin'. The cosmopolitan theropod fauna of Australia probably reflects the global distribution of these clades early in their history, prior to significant continental breakup.
... The Bulldog Shale is an epicontinental shallow marine unit comprising carbonaceous mudstones and shales (Krieg and Rogers 1995). It is highly fossiliferous, yielding a rich assemblage of marine invertebrates (Ludbrook 1966), osteichthyan fish and chimaerids (Alley and Pledge 2000), marine reptiles (plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs: Kear 2003Kear , 2006, and occasional dinosaurs (Barrett et al. 2010). Significantly, the Bulldog Shale also preserves sedimentary (ice-rafted boulders, glendonites) and fossil (dense growth banding in coniferous driftwood) indicators of highly seasonal, near freezing climates and is associated with an Early Cretaceous high latitude zone (~70 o S: Frakes et al. 1995). ...
Healed bite marks on a Cretaceous ichthyosaur. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 5X (X): xxx-xxx. doi:10.4202/app.2010.0117 Reports of pathological ichthyosaur fossils are very rare. The identification of a series of healed cuts and an associated gouge on the lower jaw of an adult (ca 5 metres body length) Platypterygius specimen from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia is therefore significant, because it constitutes direct evidence of bite force trauma sustained during the life of the animal. Based on the close spacing and non-lethal facial positioning of the wounds, they were probably not inflicted by a predator. Alternative explanations might include an accidental aggressive encounter with another large vertebrate, or perhaps an intraspecific interaction such as during courtship or combat over food, mates or territory.
The titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae is represented by two individuals from the Cenomanian-lower Turonian 'upper' Winton Formation of central Queensland, northeastern Australia. The type specimen has been described in detail, whereas the referred specimen, which includes several elements not present in the type series (partial skull, atlas, axis and postaxial cervical vertebrae), has only been described briefly. Herein, we provide a comprehensive description of this referred specimen, including a thorough assessment of the external and internal anatomy of the braincase, and identify several new autapomorphies of D. matildae. Via an expanded data matrix consisting of 125 taxa scored for 552 characters, we recover a close, well-supported relationship between Diamantinasaurus and its contemporary, Savannasaurus elliottorum. Unlike previous iterations of this data matrix, under a parsimony framework we consistently recover Diamantinasaurus and Savannasaurus as early-diverging members of Titanosauria using both equal weighting and extended implied weighting, with the overall topology largely consistent between analyses. We erect a new clade, named Diamantinasauria herein, that also includes the contemporaneous Sarmientosaurus musacchioi from southern Argentina, which shares several cranial features with the referred Diamantinasaurus specimen. Thus, Diamantinasauria is represented in the mid-Cretaceous of both South America and Australia, supporting the hypothesis that some titanosaurians, in addition to megaraptoran theropods and possibly some ornithopods, were able to disperse between these two continents via Antarctica. Conversely, there is no evidence for rebbachisaurids in Australia, which might indicate that they were unable to expand into high latitudes before their extinction in the Cenomanian-Turonian. Likewise, there is no evidence for titanosaurs with procoelous caudal vertebrae in the mid-Cretaceous Australian record, despite scarce but compelling evidence for their presence in both Antarctica and New Zealand during the Campanian-Maastrichtian. These later titanosaurs presumably dispersed into these landmasses from South America before the Campanian (~85 Mya), when seafloor spreading between Zealandia and Australia commenced. Although Australian mid-Cretaceous dinosaur faunas appear to be cosmopolitan at higher taxonomic levels, closer affinities with South America at finer scales are becoming better supported for sauropods, theropods and ornithopods.
