Abelisauridae lived mainly in Patagonia and other regions of the ancient Gondwana subcontinent, which today included Africa, India, Antarctica, Australia and South America. To date we know about twenty species, half of which are found in Patagonia.
Abelisauridae are generally similar Tyrannosaurus rex With their large hind legs and small, short arms, they have unusually short and deep skulls that often have combs, spurs, and antlers.
Localcan It moves on its hind legs with enormous claws that it may have used to sting its prey. Thanks to its strong hind legs, it was able to run very quickly to catch prey, which could then be torn apart by its powerful jaw and sharpened teeth.
It lived in the same small area and during the same period with another species of Furileus auride – the hard-back lizard – Abelisauridae, namely Viavenator exxoniA few million years before the end of the Cretaceous, and at the same time the end of the age of dinosaurs.
Fossil remains Localcan in a Viavinator It is located just 700 meters in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation, near the famous La Invernada fossil site in Argentina.
Dr Federico Giancini said: “This is a particularly important finding because it indicates that apilisauride was remarkably diverse and common not only in Patagonia, but also in more local areas during the last years of the dinosaurs.” Giancini is a paleontologist at the University Nacional de San Luis and lead author of the new study on Localcan.
