Pronunciation: MY-EEP
Meaning: for Maip
Author/s: Rolando et al. (2022)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Santa Cruz, Argentina
Discovery Chart Position: #1069
Maip macrothorax
(Maip with the big thorax)Etymology
Maip is named after an evil entity from the Tehuelche (aka Aonikenk) mythology that represents "the shadow of the death" which "kills with cold wind", and roams the mountains. Likewise, Maip macrothronax roamed an area close to what is now the ice cold Argentine Andes, casting a shadow of death over its prey. The species epithet, macro, is derived from the Latin "macro" (big) and "thorax" (chest), referring to its thoracic cavity (chest) which is over 1.20 m at its widest point.
Discovery
The remains of Maip were discovered in the Chorrillo Formation at Locality 3 ("Megaraptorid Site"), La Anita Farm, 30 km SW of El Calafate City, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, by Alexis Rolando in March 2019, just days before strict COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were enforced. The holotype (MPM 21,545) includes nine back vertebrae, two tail vertebrae, some vertebrae fragments, three incomplete neck ribs, numerous incomplete or fragmentary back ribs, belly ribs, a fragmentary shoulder girdle, and a partial metatarsal. Also included are elements from the same site that were described (but not named) by Novas et al. in 2019, including the centrum of back vertebra, a tail vertebra, a piece of right pubis and the end of a second metatarsal. The specimen was found scattered around a roughly 5m × 3m area, in a bed no more than 1 metre thick.
Preparators
Alexis M. Aranciaga Rolando, assisted by Julieta De Pasqua, S. Rozadilla, F. Brissón Eglí, G. Muñoz, M. Cerroni and team members from Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (LACEV).
