Open Paleo

Diluvicursor

Herne et al., 2018 dy-LOO-vee-KUR-suh

From Latin diluvium (flood) + cursor (runner): 'flood runner', referring to the Eumeralla Formation's flood-plain depositional environment.

113.2–100.5 million years ago Albian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Diluvicursor is a genus of small ornithischian from the Lower Albian (Early Cretaceous) of Australia. It is known from one species, the type species D. pickeringi. The two known specimens, a vertebra and a partial juvenile postcranium discovered in 2005 from the Eumeralla Formation, are known, and they were named in early 2018.

Diagnosis

  1. Dorsoventral height of the neural arch on the anterior-most caudal vertebrae highly reduced and sub-equal to dorsoventral centrum height.
  2. Prezygapophysis on the anterior-most caudal vertebrae horizontally oriented and located at the neural arch base, lateral to the neural canal.
  3. Tuberous process dorsally on the spinoprezygapophyseal lamina of the anterior-most caudal vertebrae.
  4. Caudal ribs on the anterior-most caudal vertebrae transversely broad, distance across ribs ~85% of total vertebral height inclusive of haemal arch.
  5. Triangular intervertebral process anteriorly on the centrum of the posterior-most caudal vertebrae incises a V-shaped notch at the posterior end of the adjoining centrum.
  6. Pd IV-1 strongly asymmetrical in dorsoplantar view, with the proximal cotyle flaring medially and the lateral edge straight.

Species

Diluvicursor pickeringi Herne et al., 2018

Type species

Named for David A. Pickering, who made notable contributions to paleontology in Australia and died during the preparation of the describing study.

Holotype
NMV P221080 , Museums Victoria
Material
Partial postcranium: almost complete caudal vertebral series, distal ends of right tibia and fibula, complete right tarsus and partial right pes.
Horizon
Eumeralla Formation, Albian, Early Cretaceous , 113.2–100.5 million years ago
Locality
Eric the Red West, Victoria, Australia

Notable specimens

  • NMV P229456

    Museums Victoria Found 2005 largest individual

    Referred partial caudal vertebra of a larger individual, about twice the length of the juvenile holotype's vertebrae. Found nearby in the same deposit, it is the basis for estimating that adults reached at least 2.3 meters long.

    Herne et al. (2018)

References

  1. Herne, M. C.; Tait, A. M.; Weisbecker, V.; Hall, M.; Nair, J. P.; Cleeland, M.; Salisbury, S. W. (2018). A new small-bodied ornithopod (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from a deep, high-energy Early Cretaceous river of the Australian-Antarctic rift system. PeerJ 5: e4113. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.4113 herne2018a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates.

    jones2026a