A redescription of Talenkauen santacrucensis

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A new study has redescribed the remains of Talenkauen santacrucensis, the most complete South American ornithopod yet discovered from the Mata Amarilla Formation of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The new study found that certain features of the neck vertebrae of this genus, which are similar to those of other elasmarian ornithopods, suggest that this group had proportionally longer necks than those of other ornithopods. The study also suggests that other features found in this genus and other elasmarians, such as an ornamented labial surface of the mandibular teeth and a sigmoidal greater trochanter of femur, are synapomorphies of the clade Elasmaria. The study recovers most Cretaceous Gondwanan ornithopods in the clade Elasmaria, meaning that the clade had a wider geographical and temporal distribution than first thought. Here is a link to the paper describing this study.

Paper (abstract only): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2019.1582562?journalCode=tjsp20

[Halichoeres]

Nice to get new data on this taxon. Thanks for posting!