Achillesaurus

Ah-kil-le-sore-us.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Achillesaurus ‭(‬Achilles lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ah-kil-le-sore-us.

Named By

Agust�n G.‭ ‬Martinelli‭ & ‬Ezequiel I.‭ ‬Vera‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Alvarezsauroidea,‭ ‬Alvarezsauridae.

Diet

Insectivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬manazzonei‭

Size

Unavailable.

Known locations

Argentina,‭ ‬Rio Negro Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bajo de la Carpa Formation.

Time Period

Santonian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial skeleton.

In Depth

       Achillesaurus has been identified as a basal alvarezsaur that lived in Argentina during the late Cretaceous,‭ ‬but there is now some question to its validity.‭ ‬Achillesaurus was thought to have lived alongside the type genus of the alvarezsauridae,‭ ‬Alvarezsaurus.‭ ‬A‭ ‬2012‭ ‬study by Makovicky et al.‭ ‬however has raised the notion that Achillesaurus and Alvarezsaurus may in fact be one and the same dinosaur.‭ ‬If so then Achillesaurus would become a synonym of Alvarezsaurus.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Achillesaurus manazzonei,‭ ‬a new alvarezsaurid theropod‭ (‬Dinosauria‭) ‬from the Late Cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation,‭ ‬R�o Negro Province,‭ ‬Argentina‭ ‬-‭ ‬Agust�n G.‭ ‬Martinelli‭ & ‬Ezequiel I.‭ ‬Vera‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007. -‭ ‬A New Coelurosaurian Theropod from the La Buitrera Fossil Locality of R�o Negro,‭ ‬Argentina‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Makovicky,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬N.‭ ‬Apestegu�a,‭ ‬F.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Gianechini‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.

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