Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North Africa
Abstract Over the last few decades, the systematics and evolution of carcharodontosaurids, a group of large predatory dinosaurs, from North Africa have been better understood mainly due the discovery of new species. We review this record here and discuss its importance for understanding the evolutio...
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Universidade de São Paulo
2018-07-01
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doaj-11ad87e482ab4b328dd1fd8c33a7d15b2020-11-25T00:42:47ZengUniversidade de São PauloPapéis Avulsos de Zoologia1807-02052018-07-0158010.11606/1807-0205/2018.58.29S0031-10492018000100228Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North AfricaCarlos Roberto dos Anjos CandeiroStephen Louis BrusatteLuciano VidalPaulo Victor Luiz Gomes da Costa PereiraAbstract Over the last few decades, the systematics and evolution of carcharodontosaurids, a group of large predatory dinosaurs, from North Africa have been better understood mainly due the discovery of new species. We review this record here and discuss its importance for understanding the evolution and ecology of these dinosaurs. North Africa has one of the best records of carcharodontosaurid species. These species show dietary specializations and paleogeographic distributions similar to other top predatory theropods such as Abelisauridae and Spinosauridae. However, carcharodontosaurids have a wider distribution than other large theropods. The middle Cretaceous of North Africa was characterized by the niche overlap between large predators. This evidence increases our understanding of the evolution of Carcharodontosauridae in a highly competitive region, a conjuncture rarely reported for large top predators.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0031-10492018000100228&lng=en&tlng=enCarcharodontosauridaeGondwanaMiddle CretaceousNorth AfricaOverlap |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Carlos Roberto dos Anjos Candeiro Stephen Louis Brusatte Luciano Vidal Paulo Victor Luiz Gomes da Costa Pereira |
spellingShingle |
Carlos Roberto dos Anjos Candeiro Stephen Louis Brusatte Luciano Vidal Paulo Victor Luiz Gomes da Costa Pereira Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North Africa Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia Carcharodontosauridae Gondwana Middle Cretaceous North Africa Overlap |
author_facet |
Carlos Roberto dos Anjos Candeiro Stephen Louis Brusatte Luciano Vidal Paulo Victor Luiz Gomes da Costa Pereira |
author_sort |
Carlos Roberto dos Anjos Candeiro |
title |
Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North Africa |
title_short |
Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North Africa |
title_full |
Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North Africa |
title_fullStr |
Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North Africa |
title_full_unstemmed |
Paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of Carcharodontosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) during the middle Cretaceous of North Africa |
title_sort |
paleobiogeographic evolution and distribution of carcharodontosauridae (dinosauria, theropoda) during the middle cretaceous of north africa |
publisher |
Universidade de São Paulo |
series |
Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia |
issn |
1807-0205 |
publishDate |
2018-07-01 |
description |
Abstract Over the last few decades, the systematics and evolution of carcharodontosaurids, a group of large predatory dinosaurs, from North Africa have been better understood mainly due the discovery of new species. We review this record here and discuss its importance for understanding the evolution and ecology of these dinosaurs. North Africa has one of the best records of carcharodontosaurid species. These species show dietary specializations and paleogeographic distributions similar to other top predatory theropods such as Abelisauridae and Spinosauridae. However, carcharodontosaurids have a wider distribution than other large theropods. The middle Cretaceous of North Africa was characterized by the niche overlap between large predators. This evidence increases our understanding of the evolution of Carcharodontosauridae in a highly competitive region, a conjuncture rarely reported for large top predators. |
topic |
Carcharodontosauridae Gondwana Middle Cretaceous North Africa Overlap |
url |
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0031-10492018000100228&lng=en&tlng=en |
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