| Vitakrisaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Life restoration | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Noasauridae |
| Genus: | †Vitakrisaurus |
| Type species | |
| †Vitakrisaurus saraiki Malkhani, 2006 | |
Holotype phalanges
Vitakrisaurus is an informally named genus of archosaurs represented by only one known species, Vitakrisaurus saraiki. It lived in the late Cretaceous period, approximately 70 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian, in what is today the Indian subcontinent. It is estimated to have been slightly smaller than an average Ceratosaurus nasicornis. Its fossils were found in Pakistan's Vitraki Formation. The holotype specimen, MSM-303-2 is a right foot with a seemingly tridactyl form and robust phalanges. It originally belonged to the Noasauridae due to similarities with the foot of Velocisaurus, although inconsistencies within its brief description and a lack of comparison with other theropods within the 2006 paper makes formal classification difficult. However, Mickey Mortimer found that the fossils had no diagnostic features beyond Archosauria indet.
Sources[]
- Malkani, 2010. "Stratigraphy and mineral potential of Sulaiman (Middle Indus) basin, Pakistan". Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series). 42(2), 39-66.
- Malkani, 2011." Vitakridrinda and Vitakrisaurus of Vitakrisauridae Theropoda from Pakistan". Proceedings of the 6th Symposium of IGCP 507 on Paleoclimates of the Cretaceous in Asia and their global correlation. Beijing, China. 59-66.
- Theropod database Vitakrisaurus saraiki