Bioerosion trace fossils on bones of the Cretaceous South American theropod Buitreraptor gonzalezorum Makovicky, Apesteguía and Agnolín, 2005 (Deinonychosauria)

• Autores: Gianechini, Federico Abel; de Valais, Silvina
• Año de publicación: 2015
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Ichnological Evidence in Bones; Scavenging; Buitreraptor Gonzalezorum; Patagonia; Cretaceous; Ciencias Exactas y Naturales
• Institución: Universidad Nacional de Río Negro

Fil: Gianechini, Federico Abel. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Departamento de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Area de Zoología; Argentina.
Fil: de Valais, Silvina. Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Paleobiologia y Geologia. Río Negro, Argentina.
Fil: Gianechini, Federico Abel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.
Fil: de Valais, Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.
The ichnological record provides valuable information on the lifestyle, behaviour, and other palaeobiological and palaeoecological aspects of the biota. Here, we describe an interesting case of bioerosion trace fossils in bones of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum Makovicky, Apesteguı´a and Agnolı´n, 2005, a deinonychosaurian theropod from the fossiliferous locality of La Buitrera, Rı´o Negro, Patagonia, Argentina. The trace fossils are morphologically diverse and preserved in a great percentage of the skeleton, including the jaw, vertebrae and limbs. Four main groups of trace fossils have been informally named as Parallel-Edge Furrows, Overlapped Grooves, Punctures and Lined. Parallel-Edge Furrows are in turn subdivided into four subgroups: isolated furrows, parallel pairs, opposed pairs and a combination of parallel and opposed pairs. The bioerosion trace fossils were probably generated by scavenging activities, and the semi-articulated preservation of the skeleton and the small size of each individual trace indicate small-sized tracemakers. Mammals are the main candidates although some traces may have been generated by crocodyliforms and insects such as dermestids and termites. This evidence provides additional information about palaeoenvironmental conditions, taphonomic processes, taxonomic diversity and ecological relationships that characterised this part of northern Patagonia at Early Cretaceous times.
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