| Thanos Temporal range: Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
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| An artist's illustration of Thanos | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Abelisauridae |
| Tribe: | †Carnotaurini |
| Genus: | †Thanos Delcourt and Iori, 2018 |
| Species: | †T. simonattoi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Thanos simonattoi Delcourt and Iori, 2018 | |
Thanos (named for the well known Marvel villain) is a species and genus of carnivorous brachyrostan abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in the Brazil during the Santonian stage of the late Cretaceous Period. It contains only a single species, Thanos simonattoi, so far.
Description
The length of Thanos has been estimated at grow as much as; 5.5 to 6.5 meters (18–21 feet), making it a medium-sized theropod.
a depiction of the abelisaurid by paeloartist Paulo Leite(point to the advanced leg anatomy of the animal)
Despite the incompleteness of the material, a number of diagnostic features are present; a well-developed keel becoming wider and deeper posteriorly on the ventral surface; two lateral small foramina separated by a relatively wide wall on each lateral surface of the centrum; and well-developed and deep prezygapophyseal spinodiapophyseal fossae. In view of these features, Thanos species seem to be more derived than other abelisaurids at the time.
Paleoecology
Thanos in its natural habitat
