Abstract
Nodosauridae is a clade of armored dinosaurs with a rich fossil record and long history of study in North America. Nodosaurid fossils have been collected throughout the western United States and Canada. Here, we report three new nodosaurid specimens from the Upper Cretaceous (lower Campanian) Allison Member of the Menefee Formation, San Juan Basin, northwestern New Mexico. The three specimens belong to a new genus and species, Invictarx zephyri, characterized by a unique combination of features pertaining to the morphology of the osteoderms. Among the three specimens there are representative cervical/pectoral and thoracic osteoderms, as well as components of a probable co-ossified pelvic shield. The new tax on is most similar to Glyptodontopelta mimus from the Maastrichtian of New Mexico.
Highlights
Ankylosauria is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs that are armored with a diverse array of osteoderms and that have a rich fossil record from the Cretaceous of North America (Carpenter & Kirkland, 1998; Carpenter et al, 1999; Vickaryous, Maryanska & Weishampel, 2004; Arbour & Currie, 2013; Arbour, Zanno & Gates, 2016)
We describe three isolated, incomplete postcranial skeletons of a new genus and species of nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Allison Member of the Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation. This new taxon is distinguished from other nodosaurids by a unique combination of characters, and is the first dinosaur diagnostic to species reported from the Menefee Formation
The electronic version of this article in portable document format will represent a published work according to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and the new names contained in the electronic version are effectively published under that Code from the electronic edition alone
Summary
Ankylosauria is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs that are armored with a diverse array of osteoderms and that have a rich fossil record from the Cretaceous of North America (Carpenter & Kirkland, 1998; Carpenter et al, 1999; Vickaryous, Maryanska & Weishampel, 2004; Arbour & Currie, 2013; Arbour, Zanno & Gates, 2016). We describe three isolated, incomplete postcranial skeletons of a new genus and species of nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Allison Member of the Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation. This new taxon is distinguished from other nodosaurids by a unique combination of characters, and is the first dinosaur diagnostic to species reported from the Menefee Formation. The Menefee Formation forms an expanse of badlands throughout the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. Lucas et al (2005) obtained an Ar/Ar radioisotopic date of 78.22 ± 0.26 Ma from a bentonite layer near the top of the formation in the Gallina hogback in the eastern part of the San Juan Basin.
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