Tratayenia
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Tratayenia Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 86–83 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | †Megaraptora |
| Family: | †Megaraptoridae |
| Genus: | †Tratayenia |
| Type species | |
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†Tratayenia rosalesi Porfiri et al., 2018 |
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Tratayenia is an extinct genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur known from remains found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation in Argentina. The type and only species, Tratayenia rosalesi, was described in March 2018.
The holotype consists of a well-preserved, mostly articulated series of dorsal and sacral vertebrae, two partial dorsal ribs, much of the right ilium, and pubis and ischium fragments.
In 2018, some Santonian-aged fossil bones found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation in Argentina were given the name Tratayenia.
Tratayenia was a medium-sized megaraptoran, growing up to 8 metres (26 ft) long. It was closely related to genera such as Megaraptor, Australovenator, and Murusraptor. Like most other megaraptorans, Tratayenia probably had large claws on its hands for use in hunting prey. Analysis of the Baja de la Carpa indicates that Tratayenia may have been geologically the youngest megaraptoran yet discovered. Tratayenia is also the largest-bodied carnivorous animal named from the Bajo de la Carpa Formation, reinforcing the hypothesis that megaraptorids were apex predators in southern South America from the Turonian through the Santonian or early Campanian, following the extinction of carcharodontosaurids.
Megaraptorans have very controversial relations to other theropods. The first mainstream hypothesis is that they are carnosaurs, distantly related to Allosaurus and more closely related to Neovenator and carcharodontosaurids. The second popular hypothesis considers them to be basal tyrannosauroids, part of the coelurosaur lineage which includes the crested proceratosaurids as well as the famous tyrannosaurids such as Tyrannosaurus. A third hypothesis also considers them to be coelurosaurs, but outside Tyrannosauroidea and basal to practically all other groups of Coelurosauria. Porfiri et al.'s description of Tratayenia prefers this third hypothesis.
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