Rugops
Name: Rugops
(Wrinkle face).
Phonetic: Roo-gops.
Named By: P.
C. Sereno, J. A. Wilson, & J. L. Conrad - 2004.
.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Abelisauridae.
Species: R. primus (type).
Type: Carnivore.
Size: Roughly estimated about 5 meters long.
Known locations: Africa, Niger - Echkar Formation.
Time period: Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Skull.
Rugops,
meaning 'wrinkle face', is an interesting name for a carnivorous
dinosaur. This name comes from the numerous impressions in the skull
bone from large blood vessels that once ran across the bone surface
leaving a wrinkled appearance. It is thought that these extra vessels
were here to provide additional oxygenated blood to special facial
display features so far not seen in any other theropod. These blood
vessels could have also allowed for a ready supply of blood allowing
Rugops to flush blood into the soft tissue of its
snout for the purpose
of a vivid colour display. Alternatively Rugops
may have had some
kind of armoured covering over its face.
Many
of the carnivorous theropod dinosaurs have been accused of being
scavengers, but in the case of Rugops it may be an accurate
assumption. Abelisaurids
are known for their proportionately weaker
bite forces, especially when compared to the mighty tyrannosaurids of
the late cretaceous, but Rugops also had teeth
that seem to be much
weaker than its other abelisaurid brethren.
A
possible scenario for a scavenging lifestyle can be inferred from
possible special facial features as evidenced by the presence of blood
vessels. It could be that Rugops flushed blood
into the soft tissue
of its snout or sported some kind of soft tissue feature that allowed
it to intimidate other carnivores from a carcass by making itself
appear more threatening than it actually was. By acting big and scary
Rugops could avoid actually having to be so.
Rugops
was the first abelisaurid dinosaur found in Africa, with previous
members being discovered in Madagascar, India, and most importantly
for this text South America. Madagascar was formed when it split from
the Indian Sub-Continent and as such abelisaurids could not cross from
Madagascar to Africa of vice versa. This means that the only viable
origin of North African abeilisaurids was South America. For this
reason the existence of Rugops is held up as proof
that not only were
South America and Africa once joined, land bridges existed between
the two continents after they had split, allowing for new and
different kinds of dinosaurs to spread across the globe into new
continents.
Further reading
- New dinosaurs link southern landmasses in the mid-Cretaceous. -
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 271(1546):1325-1330 - P.
C. Sereno, J. A. Wilson, & J. L. Conrad - 2004.
- Allometry and body length of abelisauroid theropods: Pycnonemosaurus
nevesi is the new king. - Cretaceous Research. 69: 71–89. - O. N.
Grillo & R. Delcourt - 2016.
- R�cords y curiosidades de los dinosaurios Ter�podos y otros
dinosauromorfos, Larousse. Barcelona, Spain p. 256. - Molina-P�rez
& Larramendi - 2016.
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