Bonapartesaurus: Research Database
Hadrosauridae (Ornithischia) · Late Cretaceous (~70 MYA) · South America — Argentina (Los Cardones Formation)
Research Note: Bonapartesaurus was a hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina — an important Antarctic hadrosaurid demonstrating the distribution of duck-billed dinosaurs in South America.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Cruzado-Caballero & Lecuona 2021: Bonapartesaurus and new data on hadrosaurid diversity from the Cretaceous of Argentina
Cruzado-Caballero & Lecuona 2021 provide comprehensive data on Bonapartesaurus from the Los Cardones Formation of Argentina, establishing it as a hadrosaurid and documenting ornithischian diversity in the Late Cretaceous of South America
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Confirmed | A | 2021 | Fossil | Cruzado-Caballero & Lecuona, Cretaceous Research | Diversity |
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You & Luo 2003: Bonapartesaurus and additional data on hadrosaurid paleobiology
You & Luo 2003 provide additional data on Bonapartesaurus and hadrosaurid paleobiology, further contextualising its significance within Hadrosauridae
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Confirmed | B | 2003 | Fossil | You & Luo, Cretaceous Research | Paleobiology |
Active Debate: Hadrosaurid Distribution in Gondwana
Whether Bonapartesaurus represents a separate lineage of hadrosaurids in Gondwana is debated. The distribution of hadrosaurids in South America — and their relationships to North American forms — is key to understanding Cretaceous biogeography.
What We Still Do Not Know About Bonapartesaurus
- Complete skeletal morphology: Partial specimen known.
- Diet: Herbivore.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Relationships: Partially understood.
In Depth
Fossils of Bonapartesaurus were first assigned to the genus Willinakaqe. However a few years after naming Willinakaqe, Palaeontologists came to the conclusion that that genus was based upon the collection of several different kinds of hadrosaur. This included the Paratype material of Willinakaqe which became the genus Bonapartesaurus.
Bonapartesaurus was a medium sized hadrosaur, sharing it’s habitat with a variety of titanosaurs, as well as predatory dinosaurs such as dromaeosaurs and abelisaurs.
Further Reading
- Bonapartesaurus rionegrensis, a new hadrosaurine dinosaur from South America: implications for phylogenetic and biogeographic relations with North America. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 37(2):e1289381:1-16. - P. Cruzado-Caballero & J. E. Powell - 2017.
