Comment on ‘Two new compsognathid-like theropods show diversified predation strategies of theropod dinosaurs’ by Qiu et al.

• Autores: Hendrickx, Christophe Marie Fabian
• Año de publicación: 2025
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Compsognathidae; Sinosauropterygidae; Theropoda; Coelurosauria
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Frozen in time by multiple volcanic eruptions, the exquisitely preserved (Lagerstätte) fossils from the Barremian (Lower Cre- taceous) Yixian Formation of western Liaoning offer a remark- able glimpse into an incredibly rich ecosystem that thrived in what is now northeastern China ∼125 mi l lion years ago [1 ]. Together with fossils from the Huajiying and Jiufotang forma- tions, they form an assemblage that comprises > 60 species of plants, thousands of species of invertebrates and > 90 species of vertebrates known as the Jehol Biota. One of the most famous species from the Jehol Biota is Sinosauropteryx prima , which pro- vided the first evidence of protofeathers in a non-avian dinosaur (i.e. dinosaurs w ithout their av ian descendants, the birds) in 1996 [2 ]. Named by Qiang Ji and Shu’an Ji [3 ], Sinosauropteryx was initially thought to be the earliest fossil bird and the first representative of the new family “Sinosauropterygidae.”Itwas, however, reclassified as a member of the Compsognathidae—a small radiation of basally branching coelurosaur theropods en- compassing small-bodied ( < 3 m in length) bipedal dinosaurs that mainly inhabited Eurasia during the Late Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous [4 ]. The feeding ecology of compsognathids is among the best documented in non-avian theropod dinosaurs, with most species preserving stomach content and, in one ex- ceptional case, ingested skeletal remains within extraordinarily preserved internal organs [5 ]. Direct evidence of their diet re- vealed that these small dinosaurs were opportunistic carnivores that fed on a wide array of prey items such as fish, lizards, birds and mammals [6 ]. The classification of compsognathids, how- ever, is more obscure, with a recent study suggesting that they probably form an artificial grouping of immature individuals that belong to other theropod clades [7 ]. Compsognathid species in- deed appear to be mostly, if not exclusively, represented by skele- tally immature specimens that, other than their small size, show several traits that are seen in juvenile theropods such as unser- rated teeth [7 ].
Fil: Hendrickx, Christophe Marie Fabian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; Argentina. Fundación Miguel Lillo; Argentina