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A troodontid dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of India

Author

Listed:
  • A. Goswami

    (Evolution, and Environment, University College London
    University College London)

  • G. V. R. Prasad

    (Centre for Advanced Studies, University of Delhi)

  • O. Verma

    (Geology Discipline Group, School of Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University)

  • J. J. Flynn

    (American Museum of Natural History)

  • R. B. J. Benson

    (University of Oxford, South Parks Road)

Abstract

Troodontid dinosaurs share a close ancestry with birds and were distributed widely across Laurasia during the Cretaceous. Hundreds of occurrences of troodontid bones, and their highly distinctive teeth, are known from North America, Europe and Asia. Thus far, however, they remain unknown from Gondwanan landmasses. Here we report the discovery of a troodontid tooth from the uppermost Cretaceous Kallamedu Formation in the Cauvery Basin of South India. This is the first Gondwanan record for troodontids, extending their geographic range by nearly 10,000 km, and representing the first confirmed non-avian tetanuran dinosaur from the Indian subcontinent. This small-bodied maniraptoran dinosaur is an unexpected and distinctly ‘Laurasian’ component of an otherwise typical ‘Gondwanan’ tetrapod assemblage, including notosuchian crocodiles, abelisauroid dinosaurs and gondwanathere mammals. This discovery raises the question of whether troodontids dispersed to India from Laurasia in the Late Cretaceous, or whether a broader Gondwanan distribution of troodontids remains to be discovered.

Suggested Citation

  • A. Goswami & G. V. R. Prasad & O. Verma & J. J. Flynn & R. B. J. Benson, 2013. "A troodontid dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of India," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-5, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:4:y:2013:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2716
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2716
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