CleanupBot II at 01:20, 14 August 2023

2023-08-14T01:20:17Z

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{{Short description|Extinct genus of dinosaurs}}
{{Distinguish|Indosuchus|Inosaurus}}
{{speciesbox
|fossil_range = [[Late Cretaceous]], {{fossilrange|69|66|earliest=70.6}}
|image = Indosaurus.jpg
|image_caption = Skull
|display_parents = 2
|genus = Indosaurus
|species = matleyi
|authority = Matley & [[Friedrich von Huene|Huene]], 1933
}}

'''''Indosaurus''''' (meaning "Indian lizard") is a [[genus]] of [[theropod]] [[dinosaur]] once living in what is now [[India]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/parenting/learning/indian-dinosaurs-fossils-rajasaurus-5300209/|title=Did you know about Indian dinosaurs? Meet the Rajasaurus|last=Shroff|first=Vaishali|date=12 August 2018|work=The Indian Express|access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref> It lived about 69 to 66 million years ago, in the [[Maastrichtian]] division of the Late [[Cretaceous]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/more-lifestyle/a-raja-a-jain-a-tagore-meet-desi-dinosaurs-that-once-roamed-india-s-plains/story-EEfvnpOJjsoJUlV0vmjjKP.html|title=A raja, a Jain, a Tagore: Meet desi dinosaurs that once roamed India’s plains|last=Lopez|first=Rachel|date=4 April 2017|work=Hindustan Times|access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref> It weighed roughly 700 kg (1540 lb).

The fossil evidence from [[Jabalpur]], India, includes the now-lost<ref>S. Chatterjee, 1978, "''Indosuchus'' and ''Indosaurus'', Cretaceous carnosaurs from India", ''Journal of Paleontology'' '''52'''(3): 570-580</ref> [[holotype]] GSI K27/565, a partial skull of unusual thickness found by [[Charles Alfred Matley]] in the [[Lameta Formation]]; other parts of the skeleton have later been referred to it. The [[cranium]] suggests that ''Indosaurus'' may have had horns above its eyes, although all the fossil evidence has since been lost. ''Indosaurus'' may have been related to the unusual South American dinosaur, ''[[Carnotaurus]]''. If this is the case, then India had not been a separate continent for the previous 100 million years, as many paleontologists had thought. Instead, the two land masses possibly were connected intermittently by land bridges, allowing dinosaurs from both areas to migrate.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

The [[type species]], ''Indosaurus matleyi'', was named by [[Friedrich von Huene|Huene]] and Matley in 1933.<ref>F. von Huene and C. A. Matley, 1933, "The Cretaceous Saurischia and Ornithischia of the Central Provinces of India", ''Palaeontologica Indica (New Series), Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India'' '''21'''(1): 1-74</ref> The generic name refers to India. The [[specific name (zoology)|specific name]] honours Matley. This species now also [[inclusion (taxonomy)|includes]] ''[[Megalosaurus]] matleyi''; confusingly, the [[nomen dubium|dubious]] [[tooth]] [[taxon]] ''[[Orthogoniosaurus]]'' shares the same specific name (but is based on different material). Some [[paleontologist]]s have speculated that ''[[Indosuchus]]'' and ''[[Compsosuchus]]'' should also be included within ''Indosaurus''.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Originally assigned by Huene to the [[Allosauridae]], ''Indosaurus'' is today considered a member of the [[Abelisauridae]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

==See also==

* [[Timeline of ceratosaur research]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Theropoda|B.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q135312}}

[[Category:Majungasaurines]]
[[Category:Late Cretaceous dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs of India and Madagascar]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1933]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Alfred Matley]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Friedrich von Huene]]

{{theropod-stub}}

Indosaurus - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 01:20, 14 August 2023