Noasaurus

Noasaurus; Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Skeletal restoration showing known remains
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Family:	†Noasauridae
Genus:	†Noasaurus; Bonaparte & Powell, 1980
Species:	†N. leali
Binomial name
	†Noasaurus leali; Bonaparte & Powell, 1980

Noasaurus ("Northwestern Argentina lizard") is a genus of theropod dinosaur genus of the late Campanian-Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous).

Discovery

It was a small (less than eight feet long) theropod, specifically a ceratosaur, discovered by Jaime Powell and José Bonaparte from the Lecho Formation of Salta Province, Argentina, dating to the late Cretaceous period (early Maastrichtian stage, about 70 Ma ago). The type species, Noasaurus leali, was described by Bonaparte and Powell in 1980.

Classification

It was a close relative of the larger abelisaurids; they are both derived from the same basal abelisauroid ancestor. While originally reported to have a raptorial 'sickle claw' on the foot similar to the claws of the more advanced dromaeosaurids, subsequent studies showed that the claw actually came from the hand.^[1]

The following cladogram is based on the phylogenetic analysis conducted by Rauhut and Carrano in 2016, showing the relationships of Elaphrosaurs among the noasaurids:^[2]

Noasauridae

	CCG 20011

	Elaphrosaurus

Noasaurinae

	Velocisaurus

	Noasaurus

	Masiakasaurus

References

^ Agnolin, F.L. and Chiarelli, P. (2010). "The position of the claws in Noasauridae (Dinosauria: Abelisauroidea) and its implications for abelisauroid manus evolution." Paläontologische Zeitschrift, published online 19 November 2009. doi:10.1007/s12542-009-0044-2
^ Rauhut, O.W.M., and Carrano, M.T. (2016). The theropod dinosaur Elaphrosaurus bambergi Janensch, 1920, from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru, Tanzania. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, (advance online publication) doi:10.1111/zoj.12425