Berthasaura

Name: Berthasaura ‭(‬Bertha's lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ber-fah-sor-ah.
Named By: Geovane Alves de Souza,‭ ‬Marina Bento Soares,‭ ‬Luiz Carlos Weinsch�tz,‭ ‬Everton Wilner,‭ ‬Ricardo Tadeu Lopes,‭ ‬Olga Maria Oliveira de Ara�jo‭ & ‬Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner‭ ‬-‭ ‬2021.
Classification: Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Noasauridae.
Species: B.‭ ‬leopoldinae‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Omnivore‭?‬/Herbivore‭?
Size: Uncertain due to holotype being described from an immature individual,‭ ‬but possibly under a meter long.
Known locations: Brazil,‭ ‬Paran�‭ ‬-‭ ‬Goio-Er� Formation.
Time period: Unknown due to‭ ‬uncertainty of the date of the Fossil Formation at the time of description,‭ ‬but probably‭ ‬somewhere between the Aptian to‭ ‬the Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skull and Almost complete skeleton.‭ ‬Holotype is of an immature individual.




       Berthasaura seems to be a bit of a strange dinosaur as even though it has been considered to be a noasaurid theropod dinosaur,‭ ‬Berthasaura possessed a toothless beak.‭ ‬The description of Berthasaura is not actually the first time that a noasaurid theropod has been found without teeth,‭ ‬Limusaurus is also toothless and is known from the Late Jurassic period of China.‭ ‬Berthasaura however is even further specialised with its beak like form to its skull.
       This casts immediate uncertainty as to what Berthasaura ate,‭ ‬as most other noasaurids seem to be dedicated carnivores.‭ ‬If Berthasaura was still a carnivore,‭ ‬it would perhaps be more likely to have swallowed small vertebrates like lizards whole,‭ ‬or picked at the carcasses of dead animals.‭ ‬Berthasaura might have even taken to herbivorous browsing,‭ ‬or followed an omnivorous lifestyle,‭ ‬eating whatever it could get.‭ ‬Only future discoveries with preserved stomach contents might be able to give a clearer picture.
       The fossil site that Berthasaura is known from was a desert back in the Cretaceous.

Further reading
-‭ ‬The first edentulous ceratosaur from South America‭"‬.‭ ‬Scientific Reports.‭ ‬11‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬Article number‭ ‬22281.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geovane Alves de Souza,‭ ‬Marina Bento Soares,‭ ‬Luiz Carlos Weinsch�tz,‭ ‬Everton Wilner,‭ ‬Ricardo Tadeu Lopes,‭ ‬Olga Maria Oliveira de Ara�jo‭ & ‬Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner‭ ‬-‭ ‬2021.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Random favourites