Vitosaura
Named in honor of Victoria 'Doña Vito' Romero, a 19th-century soldier born in the Los Llanos region near the type locality, combined with 'saura', feminine of Ancient Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard'.
Late Cretaceous stages
Vitosaura is an extinct genus of abelisaurid theropod dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous Los Llanos Formation of Argentina. The genus contains a single species, Vitosaura colozacani, known from a partial skeleton. Alongside Guemesia and the noasaurid Noasaurus, Vitosaura is one of the only Argentinian ceratosaurians found outside of Patagonia.
Diagnosis
- Anterior dorsal vertebrae lacking posterior pleurocoels on the centrum
- Anterior dorsal vertebrae with a transverse groove on the distal surface of the neural spine
- Ilium with subequal pubic and ischial articulation surfaces
- Vertical ischial peduncle
- Pubic shaft decreasing in anteroposterior depth distally
Species
Vitosaura colozacani Jiménez Velandia et al., 2025
Type species
Named for the Colozacán Valley in La Rioja Province, Argentina, where the specimen was discovered.
- Holotype
- CRILAR-Pv 506 , Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja
- Material
- Partial postcranium: first dorsal centrum, nearly complete second dorsal vertebra, partial sacrum, left ilium, pubis, and ischium, plus other indeterminate elements.
- Horizon
- Los Llanos Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
- Locality
- Colozacán Valley, La Rioja, Argentina
References
- Jiménez Velandia, H.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Hechenleitner, E. M.; Basilici, G.; Martinelli, A. G.; Fiorelli, L. E. (2025). A New Late Cretaceous Abelisaurid Species from La Rioja Province, Northwestern Argentina. Ameghiniana 62(6). Asociacion Paleontologica Argentina. doi:10.5710/amgh.24.09.2025.3653 jiménezvelandia2025a