Open Paleo

Indosaurus

Huene & Matley, 1933 IN-do-SAWR-us Disputed

From India (where it was found) and Greek sauros (lizard); meaning 'Indian lizard'

72.2–66.0 million years ago Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Indosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now India, about 69 to 66 million years ago during the Maastrichtian division of the Late Cretaceous.

Under dispute

Indosaurus is consistently placed in Majungasaurinae (Tortosa and colleagues, 2014), though it has occasionally been regarded as a nomen dubium (Novas and colleagues, 2010) and may be synonymous with Indosuchus.

Diagnosis

  1. Skull bones much stouter and thicker than in Indosuchus raptorius
  2. Parietals short and broad (not forming a narrow parietal crest as in Indosuchus)
  3. Apparent transverse crest above and behind the orbits (absent in Indosuchus)
  4. Frontals concave and declining in front (vs. flat skull roof between orbits in Indosuchus)
  5. Postfrontals bearing apparent horn-like tuberosities (absent in Indosuchus)
  6. Olfactory canal deeply furrowed into frontals, with thickened longitudinal ledges approaching no closer than 4 cm at narrowest point, making the structure relatively very much broader

Species

Indosaurus matleyi Huene & Matley, 1933 Disputed

Type species

Named for Charles Alfred Matley, the geologist who discovered the holotype in India.

Holotype
GSI K27/565 , Geological Survey of India (lost)
Material
Posterior skull fragment with braincase in three fitting pieces, including condyle, supraoccipital, parietals, frontals, orbitosphenoid, and a cast of the brain cavity
Horizon
Carnosaur Bed Bed, Lameta Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Bara Simla, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

References

  1. Huene, F. V.; Matley, C. A. (1933). The Cretaceous Saurischia and Ornithischia of the Central Provinces of India. Palaeontologica Indica (New Series), Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India 21(1): 1-74. huene1933a
  2. Tortosa, T.; Buffetaut, E.; Vialle, N.; Dutour, Y.; Turini, E.; Cheylan, G. (2014). A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of southern France: Palaeobiogeographical implications. Annales de Paléontologie 100(1): 63-86. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2013.10.003

    Recovered Indosaurus matleyi within Majungasaurinae.

    tortosa2014a
  3. Novas, F. E.; Chatterjee, S.; Rudra, D. K.; Datta, P. M. (2010). Rahiolisaurus gujaratensis, n. gen. n. sp., A New Abelisaurid Theropod from the Late Cretaceous of India. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences 45-62. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-10311-7_3

    Judged Indosaurus matleyi a nomen dubium.

    novas2010b