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Abelisauridae

Osteichthyes - Abelisauridae

Taxonomy
Abelisauridae was named by Bonaparte and Novas (1985).

It was assigned to Carnosauria by Bonaparte (1985), Bonaparte and Novas (1985), Kurzanov (1989); to Carnosauria by Currie and Zhao (1994); to Neoceratosauria by Novas (1991), Holtz (1995), Holtz (1998); to Ceratosauroidea by Bonaparte et al. (1990), Sereno (1997), Sereno (1998), Sampson et al. (1998), Sereno (1999); to Theropoda by Molnar (1992), Bittencourt and Langer (2011); to Abelisauria by Novas (1992), Novas (1992), Novas (1997), Tykoski and Rowe (2004), Calvo et al. (2004), Tavares et al. (2014); to Etrigansauria by Delcourt (2018); to Ceratosauria by Currie (1997), Le Loeuff (1998), Ruiz et al. (2011), Longrich et al. (2017), Méndez et al. (2022); to Ceratosauria by Wilson et al. (2003), Pol and Rauhut (2012), Gianechini et al. (2021), Pol et al. (2024); and to Abelisauroidea by Bonaparte (1991), Holtz (1994), Rowe et al. (1997), Holtz (2000), Coria and Salgado (2000), Lamanna et al. (2002), Carrano et al. (2002), Coria et al. (2002), Rauhut (2003), Sereno et al. (2004), Martínez et al. (2004), Novas et al. (2004), Carrano et al. (2004), Yates (2005), Candeiro and Martinelli (2005), Novas et al. (2006), Coria et al. (2006), Sampson and Witmer (2007), Krause et al. (2007), Carrano and Sampson (2008), Novas et al. (2008), Sereno and Brusatte (2008), Ezcurra et al. (2010), Agnolin and Chiarelli (2010), Novas et al. (2013), Furtado et al. (2013), Tortosa et al. (2014), Hendrickx and Mateus (2014), Gasparini et al. (2015), Gianechini et al. (2015), Cerroni et al. (2020), Zaher et al. (2020), Delcourt and Iori (2020), Baiano et al. (2021), Aranciaga Rolando et al. (2021), Iori et al. (2021), Agnolín et al. (2021), Baiano et al. (2022), Juarez et al. (2023), Giaretta et al. (2023), Agnolín et al. (2023), Jiménez Velandia et al. (2025), Agnolin et al. (2025).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1933Compsosuchus Huene p. 60 fig. 20
1933Compsosuchus solus Huene p. 60 fig. 20
1933Coeluroides Huene p. 61
1933Coeluroides largus Huene p. 61 fig. 21
1933Dryptosauroides Huene p. 62
1933Dryptosauroides grandis Huene p. 62 fig. 22
1939Dryptosauroides Kuhn p. 47
1939Dryptosauroides grandis Kuhn p. 47
1939Coeluroides Kuhn p. 48
1939Coeluroides largus Kuhn p. 48
1939Compsosuchus Kuhn p. 49
1939Compsosuchus solus Kuhn p. 49
1956Coeluroides Romer p. 612
1956Compsosuchus Romer p. 612
1956Dryptosauroides Romer p. 615
1957Coeluroides largus Lapparent p. 111
1957Compsosuchus solus Lapparent p. 111
1957Dryptosauroides grandis Lapparent p. 111
1958Coeluroides Huene p. 205
1958Dryptosauroides Huene p. 205
1964Coeluroides Tatarinov p. 533
1964Compsosuchus Tatarinov p. 533
1964Dryptosauroides Tatarinov p. 537
1966Coeluroides Romer p. 369
1966Compsosuchus Romer p. 369
1966Dryptosauroides Romer p. 369
1970Coeluroides Steel p. 15
1970Coeluroides largus Steel p. 15
1970Compsosuchus Steel p. 15
1970Compsosuchus solus Steel p. 15
1970Dryptosauroides Steel p. 31
1970Dryptosauroides grandis Steel p. 31
1974Megalosaurus chubutensis del Corro
1978Megalosaurus chubutensis Bonaparte p. 551
1980Coeluroides Molnar p. 139
1980Compsosuchus Molnar p. 139
1980Dryptosauroides Molnar p. 139
1984Coeluroides largus Welles p. 162
1985Abelisauridae Bonaparte p. 149
1985Abelisauridae Bonaparte and Novas
1988Coeluroides Carroll
1988Compsosuchus Carroll
1988Dryptosauroides Carroll
1988Coeluroides largus Vianey-Liaud et al. p. 416
1988Compsosuchus solus Vianey-Liaud et al. p. 416
1988Dryptosauroides grandis Vianey-Liaud et al. p. 416
1989Coeluroides largus Jain p. 100
1989Compsosuchus solus Jain p. 100
1989Dryptosauroides grandis Jain p. 100
1989Abelisauridae Kurzanov p. 3
1989Compsosuchus Kurzanov p. 4
1990Abelisauridae Bonaparte et al. pp. 2-3
1990Compsosuchus Molnar et al. p. 191
1990Compsosuchus solus Molnar et al. p. 191
1991Abelisauridae Bonaparte p. 22
1991Abelisauridae Novas p. 401
1992Abelisauridae Molnar p. 265
1992Abelisauridae Novas
1994Abelisauridae Currie and Zhao p. 2079
1994Abelisauridae Holtz
1995Abelisauridae Holtz, Jr. p. 35A
1996Coeluroides largus Kohring et al. p. 51
1996Compsosuchus solus Kohring et al. p. 51
1996Dryptosauroides grandis Kohring et al. p. 51
1996Coeluroides largus Loyal et al. p. 629
1996Compsosuchus solus Loyal et al. p. 629
1996Dryptosauroides grandis Loyal et al. p. 629
1997Abelisauridae Currie p. 732
1997Abelisauridae Novas p. 1
1997Abelisauridae Rowe et al. p. 108–109
1997Abelisauridae Sereno p. 455
1998Abelisauridae Holtz, Jr. p. 39
1998Abelisauridae Le Loeuff p. 53
1998Abelisauridae Sampson et al. p. 1050 fig. 3
1998Abelisauridae Sereno p. 64
1999Abelisauridae Sereno p. 2138 fig. 2
2000Abelisauridae Coria and Salgado
2000Abelisauridae Holtz, Jr. p. 16
2001Coeluroides largus Mohabey p. 484
2001Compsosuchus solus Mohabey p. 484
2001Dryptosauroides grandis Mohabey p. 484
2002Abelisauridae Carrano et al.
2002Abelisauridae Coria et al.
2002Abelisauridae Lamanna et al. p. 63
2003Abelisauridae Rauhut p. 142
2003Abelisauridae Wilson et al.
2004Abelisauridae Calvo et al. p. 556
2004Abelisauridae Carrano et al. p. 44A
2004Abelisauridae Martínez et al. p. 578
2004Abelisauridae Novas et al. p. 80
2004Coeluroides Novas et al. p. 83
2004Coeluroides largus Novas et al. p. 83
2004Abelisauridae Sereno et al. p. 1326 fig. 4
2004Abelisauridae Tykoski and Rowe p. 65 fig. 3.12
2005Abelisauridae Candeiro and Martinelli p. 9
2005Abelisauridae Yates p. 118 fig. 9
2006Abelisauridae Coria et al. p. 1288 fig. 6
2006Abelisauridae Novas et al. p. 63
2007Abelisauridae Krause et al. p. 2
2007Abelisauridae Sampson and Witmer p. 38
2008Abelisauridae Carrano and Sampson pp. 199-200 fig. 4
2008Abelisauridae Novas et al. p. 629
2008Abelisauridae Sereno and Brusatte p. 17
2010Abelisauridae Agnolin and Chiarelli p. 294
2010Abelisauridae Ezcurra et al. p. 14 fig. 8
2011Abelisauridae Bittencourt and Langer p. 35
2011Abelisauridae Ruiz et al. p. 1271
2012Abelisauridae Pol and Rauhut p. 1
2013Abelisauridae Furtado et al. p. 109
2013Abelisauridae Novas et al. p. 176
2014Abelisauridae Hendrickx and Mateus
2014Abelisauridae Tavares et al. p. 61
2014Abelisauridae Tortosa et al. p. 70
2015Abelisauridae Gasparini et al.
2015Abelisauridae Gianechini et al.
2017Abelisauridae Longrich et al.
2018Abelisauridae Delcourt p. 3
2020Abelisauridae Cerroni et al. p. 7
2020Abelisauridae Delcourt and Iori
2020Abelisauridae Zaher et al.
2021Abelisauridae Agnolín et al.
2021Abelisauridae Aranciaga Rolando et al. p. 3
2021Abelisauridae Baiano et al.
2021Abelisauridae Gianechini et al. p. 4
2021Abelisauridae Iori et al. p. 4
2022Abelisauridae Baiano et al. p. 4
2022Abelisauridae Méndez et al. p. 2
2023Abelisauridae Agnolín et al.
2023Abelisauridae Giaretta et al.
2023Abelisauridae Juarez et al. p. 6
2023Coeluroides Khosla and Lucas p. 718
2023Coeluroides largus Khosla and Lucas p. 718
2023Compsosuchus Khosla and Lucas p. 718
2023Compsosuchus solus Khosla and Lucas p. 718
2023Dryptosauroides Khosla and Lucas p. 718
2023Dryptosauroides grandis Khosla and Lucas p. 718
2024Abelisauridae Pol et al. p. 312
2025Abelisauridae Agnolin et al. p. 234
2025Abelisauridae Jiménez Velandia et al. p. 6

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
RankNameAuthor
Romeriida
Diapsida()
Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
Crocopoda
ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
Eucrocopoda
Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
Ornithodira
Dinosauromorpha
Dinosauriformes
Dinosauria()
Saurischia()
Theropoda()
Neotheropoda
AverostraPaul 2002
suborderCeratosauria()
familyAbelisauridae
familyAbelisauridae

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Fm. †Abelisauridae Bonaparte and Novas 1985
show all | hide all
Unr. †Brachyrostra Canale et al. 2008
+
G. †Aucasaurus Coria et al. 2002
+
Aucasaurus garridoi Coria et al. 2002
G. †Dahalokely Farke and Sertich 2013
+
Dahalokely tokana Farke and Sertich 2013
G. †Ekrixinatosaurus Calvo et al. 2004
+
Ekrixinatosaurus novasi Calvo et al. 2004
Unr. †Furileusauria Filippi et al. 2016
+
Subfm. †Abelisaurinae Paul 1988
+
G. †Abelisaurus Bonaparte 1984
+
Abelisaurus comahuensis Bonaparte 1984
G. †Niebla Aranciaga Rolando et al. 2021
+
Niebla antiqua Aranciaga Rolando et al. 2021
G. †Caletodraco Buffetaut et al. 2024
+
Caletodraco cottardi Buffetaut et al. 2024
G. †Carnotaurus Bonaparte 1985
+
Carnotaurus sastrei Bonaparte 1985
G. †Elemgasem Baiano et al. 2022
+
Elemgasem nubilus Baiano et al. 2022
G. †Koleken Pol et al. 2024
+
Koleken inakayali Pol et al. 2024
G. †Llukalkan Gianechini et al. 2021
+
Llukalkan aliocranianus Gianechini et al. 2021
G. †Pycnonemosaurus Kellner and Campos 2002
+
Pycnonemosaurus nevesi Kellner and Campos 2002
G. †Quilmesaurus Coria 2001
+
Quilmesaurus curriei Coria 2001
G. †Viavenator Filippi et al. 2016
+
Viavenator exxoni Filippi et al. 2016
G. †Guemesia Agnolín et al. 2021
+
Guemesia ochoai Agnolín et al. 2021
G. †Ilokelesia Coria and Salgado 2000
+
Ilokelesia aguadagrandensis Coria and Salgado 2000
G. †Rahiolisaurus Novas et al. 2010
+
Rahiolisaurus gujaratensis Novas et al. 2010
G. †Skorpiovenator Canale et al. 2008 [scorpion hunter]
+
Skorpiovenator bustingorryi Canale et al. 2008
G. †Thanos Delcourt and Iori 2020
+
Thanos simonattoi Delcourt and Iori 2020
Invalid names: Carnotaurini Coria et al. 2002 [empty]
Subfm. †Carnotaurinae Sereno 1998
+
Tr. †Majungasaurini Tortosa et al. 2014
+
G. †Arcovenator Tortosa et al. 2014
+
Arcovenator escotae Tortosa et al. 2014
G. †Genusaurus Accarie et al. 1995
+
Genusaurus sisteronis Accarie et al. 1995
G. †Indosaurus Huene 1933
+
Indosaurus matleyi Huene 1933
G. †Majungasaurus Lavocat 1955
+
Majungasaurus crenatissimus Depéret 1896
+
Invalid names: Majungatholus atopus Sues and Taquet 1979 [synonym]
Invalid names: Majungatholus Sues and Taquet 1979 [synonym]
G. †Rajasaurus Wilson et al. 2003
+
Rajasaurus narmadensis Wilson et al. 2003
G. †Indosuchus Huene 1933
+
Indosuchus raptorius Huene 1933
G. †Kryptops Sereno and Brusatte 2008
+
Kryptops palaios Sereno and Brusatte 2008
G. Kurupi Iori et al. 2021
+
Kurupi itaata Iori et al. 2021
G. †Lametasaurus Matley 1924
+
Lametasaurus indicus Matley 1924
G. †Rugops Sereno et al. 2004
+
Rugops primus Sereno et al. 2004
G. †Spectrovenator Zaher et al. 2020
+
Spectrovenator ragei Zaher et al. 2020
G. †Tarascosaurus Le Loeuff and Buffetaut 1991
+
Tarascosaurus salluvicus Le Loeuff and Buffetaut 1991
G. †Tralkasaurus Cerroni et al. 2020
+
Tralkasaurus cuyi Cerroni et al. 2020
G. †Vitosaura Jiménez Velandia et al. 2025
+
Vitosaura colozacani Jiménez Velandia et al. 2025
G. †Xenotarsosaurus Martínez et al. 1986
+
Xenotarsosaurus bonapartei Martínez et al. 1986
Invalid names: Coeluroides Huene 1933 [nomen dubium], Compsosuchus Huene 1933 [nomen dubium], Compsosuchus solus Huene 1933 [nomen dubium], Dryptosauroides Huene 1933 [nomen dubium], Megalosaurus chubutensis del Corro 1974 [nomen dubium]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available