Pycnonemosaurus

Pycnonemosaurus nevesi
Name	Pycnonemosaurus nevesi
Order	Saurischia
Suborder	Theropoda
Class	Abelisauridae
Name Translation	Thick forest lizard
Period	Maastrichtian of the Late Cretaceous
Location	South America
Diet	Coeval animals.
Size	8.9 meters

Pycnonemosaurus (meaning "thick forest lizard") is a genus of carnivorous dinosaur of the family Abelisauridae. It was found in Brazil and lived about 70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period. The only known fossils are fragmentary, so not much is known about its appearance. It was discovered in 2002. This dinosaur could be the largest abelisaur. The research done by Gregory S. Paul in 2016 showed that Ekrixinatosaurus which was thought to be the largest abelisaur since 2011 was smaller than Carnotaurus the previous dinosaur which was thought to be the largest abelisaur. Pycnonemosaurus could reach lengths up to 8.9 meters. 

Discovery

It was found in the upper cretaceous Bauru type, red conglomerate sandstone, Mato Grosso, Brazil, and it lived around the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichian age) 70 million years ago. Initial size estimates put this dinosaur at 7 meters in average but later it was found to possibly reach up to 8.9 m. Thus far the remains of Pycnonemosaurus are fragmentary: Five incomplete teeth, seven caudal vertebrae, distal part of a right pubis, a right tibia and the distal articulation of the right fibula.The small pubic foot and hatchet-shaped crinmial crest of the tibia,distinguishing this species from other Abelisaurs. The type species Pycnonemosaurus nevesi was described by Kellner and Compos in 2002.

Description

The type species P. nevesi was the largest abelisaurid reaching lengths of 8.9 meters. It had a very unique crest on it's head, as most abelisaurids do, such as Rajasaurus and Carnotaurus. The skull could reach about 0.97 meters. It's mass could have been 1.75 tonnes.