ABELISAURID PEDAL UNGUALS FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS OF INDIA

Abstract

The ungual phalanges of theropod dinosaurs discovered in the Lameta Formation (Maastrichtian), central India, exhibit distinctive characters unknown in other theropods. Hence, their taxonomic identification remained obscure since their original description in 1933. Recent discoveries of abelisaurid theropods in Patagonia indicate that the phalanges from India belong to the foot of these dinosaurs. New information on the foot skeleton of this group of Cretaceous Gondwanan predators is included herein. KEY WORDS. Theropoda. Abelisauridae. Unguals. Cretaceous. Gondwana.