Pronunciation: nyeh-blah
Meaning: Mist
Author/s: Rolando et al. (2020)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Río Negro, Argentina
Acta Ordinal: #1050
Niebla antiqua
The Cretaceous record of abelisaurid theropods in Argentina is by far the richest of the Southern Hemisphere when compared with other Gondwanan landmasses—India, Madagascar, continental Africa, and Australia—with the Patagonian badlands alone yielding Abelisaurus, Carnotaurus, Aucasaurus, Ekrixinatosaurus, Skorpiovenator, Viavenator, Quilmesaurus, and Tralkasaurus. Into that already crowded mass of teeth and claws stepped Niebla antiqua, a surprisingly small but strikingly advanced abelisaurid from the very end of the Cretaceous. Found in the Allen Formation of northern Patagonia and described from a partial adult skeleton, Niebla shows that even in the final two million years before a six-mile-wide asteroid ended the reign of non-bird dinosaurs, abelisaurids were still experimenting with body plans, proportions, and anatomical architecture.
(Old Mist)Etymology
Niebla is a Spanish word meaning "mist", in reference to the foggy days during the excavation of the specimen.
The species epithet, antiqua, means "old" in Latin.
Zoo bank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9664B915-0C4F-445D-8507 552AC8484DB2.
Discovery
The remains of Niebla were discovered in the Allen Formation at Matadero Hill within Arriagada Farm, 70 km south of General Roca city, Río Negro province, Argentina.
The holotype (MPCN-PV-796) includes a nearly complete braincase, a relatively complete shoulder girdle, two incomplete back vertebrae, weathered ribs, a fragmentary lower jaw, and some teeth, found in an area 2 m2.
