Pronunciation: HYOO-win-kul-SOR-us
Meaning: Huincul lizard
Author/s: Baiano et al. (2020)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Neuquén, Argentina
Discovery Chart Position: #1016
Huinculsaurus montesi
• Huinculsaurus fills the Barremian-Santonian gap in the noasaurid record.
• Shows that the Elaphrosaurine lineage survived in South America up to the early Upper Cretaceous.
• Shows that the Elaphrosaurine lineage survived in South America up to the early Upper Cretaceous.
(Montes' Huincul Lizard)Etymology
Huinculsaurus is derived from "Huincul" (for the Huincul Formation in which it was found) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The species epithet, montesi, honours the late Eduardo Montes,
a technician from the Museo Municipal Carmen Funes at Plaza Huincul, who made the final preparation of the holotype and many other specimens in the vertebrate paleontology collections of the MCF.
ZooBank registry: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E037247D-8C7E-4FCE-BD3E-0BB705ABB2DF.
Discovery
The remains of Huinculsaurus were discovered at Aguada Grande in the Huincul Formation, 15km south of Plaza Huincul City, Neuquén Province, Argentina. The holotype of another abelisauroid, Ilokelesia aguadagrandensis, was discovered just 10m away in 1991.
The holotype (MCF-PVPH-36) is an articulated sequence of the last three back vertebrae and the first two hip vertebrae, belonging to an immature individual.
Preparators
Rodolfo A. Coria.Eduardo Montes.
