An unusual theropod frontal from the Upper Cretaceous of north Patagonia

Paulina-Carabajal, A. & Coria, R.A. 15.4.2015. An unusual theropod frontal from the Upper Cretaceous of north Patagonia. Alcheringa 39, 514–518. ISSN 0311-5518

We report an isolated left frontal (MCF-PVPH 320) corresponding to a medium-sized theropod dinosaur from the Portezuelo Formation (Coniacian) of northern Patagonia. It shows a unique combination of traits that are not present in any other known Cretaceous theropod from South America. MCF-PVPH 320 is robust and anteroposteriorly short, with a flat and smooth dorsal surface largely excavated by the supratemporal fossa. Endocranially, the olfactory bulb impression is elongate, and the olfactory tract impression is markedly shortened anteroposteriorly. MCF-PVPH 320 differs greatly from the frontals of Late Cretaceous theropods, such as abelisaurids, megaraptorines and carcharodontosaurids. In contrast, character states including the thickness of the bone, V-shaped frontoparietal suture, reduced participation on the orbital margin and markedly short olfactory tract impression suggest the presence of an unknown mid-sized to large allosauroid for the Portezuelo Formation.

Ariana Paulina-Carabajal [a.paulinacarabajal@conicet.gov.ar], CONICET-Museo Carmen Funes, Av. Córdoba 55 (8318), Plaza Huincul, Neuquén, Argentina; Rodolfo A. Coria [rcoria@unrn.edu.ar], CONICET-Instituto de Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Av. Roca 1242 (8332), Gral. Roca, Río Negro, Argentina.     

Pacific Islands Ichthyoarchaeology: Implications for the Development of Prehistoric Fishing Studies and Global Sustainability

The Pacific Islands—consisting of culturally diverse Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia—is the ideal region to investigate the development of prehistoric fishing studies, as nowhere else on Earth is there such environmental contrasts among island types and their marine environments. We review the ichthyoarchaeological literature for the Pacific and assess developments in recovery methods, reference collections, taxonomic identifications, quantification, taphonomy and site-formation processes, ethnoarchaeology, approaches to diet and subsistence reconstructions, sustainability, and the importance of applied zooarchaeology for fisheries management and conservation. Ichthyoarchaeologists are beginning to work more closely with resource managers, fisheries biologists, policy makers, and indigenous communities to produce holistic studies of conservation management, resource sustainability, and assessments of human impacts on marine ecosystems over centuries to millennial time scales.