Morphology and neurovascular patterns of the premaxillary bones of

the Abelisauridae
Andr Luis de SOUZA JUNIOR1; Ariana Paulina- CARABAJAL2; Carlos Roberto
A. CANDEIRO1,3
1

Laboratrio de Paleontologia e Evoluo do Curso de Geologia da Universidade

Federal de Gois. andreluissouzajr@gmail.com; candeiro@ufg.br
2

CONICET-Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente.

premjisaurus@yahoo.com.ar
3

CNPQ

The Abelisauridae is one of the most characteristic groups of South American dinosaurs.
They originated in the Jurassic and reached their apogee of diversity in the Late
Cretaceous, when they were diverse across Gondwana. Over the past decade the
phylogenetic relationships of abelisaurids have been widely studied and much progress
has been made in understanding the evolution of the group. One particularly important
bone in phylogenetic studies is the premaxilla, which preserves several critical
characters of taxonomic significance. For example, ceratosaurs are diagnosed by a
craniocaudal shortening of the premaxilla, in which the bone is higher dorsoventrally
than long anteroposteriorly. Another important character of taxonomic value is the
absence of the premaxillary palatal process. Here we survey the morphology of the
premaxilla among abelisaurids and describe the variation in the neurovascular system,
particularly the position and size of neurovascular foramina. Below the nasal process of
the premaxilla there is a neurovascular foramen in Majungasaurus crenatissimus and
Rahiolisaurus gujaratensis, located further ventrally than in large allosauroids (e.g.,
Sinraptor dongi and Allosaurus fragilis). Also, the abelisaurid neurovascular foramina
are smaller than in other middle-large size theropods (e.g., allosauroids, spinosaurids
and tyrannosaurids), demonstrating that the position and size of the neurovascular
foramina are variable among large theropod taxa. The ventral position and smaller size
of the neurovascular foramen could be a diagnostic character of abelisaurids, which
would be important in phylogenetic analyses, but the function and paleobiological
implications of the associated nerves and blood vessels need to be tested. Further study

of abelisaurid fossils will allow a better understanding of their premaxillary

morphologies and help to evaluate this hypothesis.