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Re: Anzu, new large-bodied oviraptorosaurian from Hell Creek Cretaceous beds



Well, Ben, we both got a mention for suggesting names.  I suggested Anzu.  I 
guess I won the coin toss?

D

On Mar 19, 2014, at 2:01 PM, Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Ben Creisler
> bcreisler@gmail.com
> 
> New in PLoS ONE:
> 
> Matthew C. Lamanna, Hans-Dieter Sues, Emma R. Schachner & Tyler R. Lyson 
> (2014)
> A New Large-Bodied Oviraptorosaurian Theropod Dinosaur from the Latest
> Cretaceous of Western North America.
> PLoS ONE 9(3): e92022.
> doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092022
> http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092022
> 
> 
> The oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur clade Caenagnathidae has long
> been enigmatic due to the incomplete nature of nearly all described
> fossils. Here we describe Anzu wyliei gen. et sp. nov., a new taxon of
> large-bodied caenagnathid based primarily on three well-preserved
> partial skeletons. The specimens were recovered from the uppermost
> Cretaceous (upper Maastrichtian) Hell Creek Formation of North and
> South Dakota, and are therefore among the stratigraphically youngest
> known oviraptorosaurian remains. Collectively, the fossils include
> elements from most regions of the skeleton, providing a wealth of
> information on the osteology and evolutionary relationships of
> Caenagnathidae. Phylogenetic analysis reaffirms caenagnathid
> monophyly, and indicates that Anzu is most closely related to
> Caenagnathus collinsi, a taxon that is definitively known only from a
> mandible from the Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta. The
> problematic oviraptorosaurs Microvenator and Gigantoraptor are
> recovered as basal caenagnathids, as has previously been suggested.
> Anzu and other caenagnathids may have favored well-watered floodplain
> settings over channel margins, and were probably ecological
> generalists that fed upon vegetation, small animals, and perhaps eggs.