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Opisthopubic pelvis in the carnivorous dinosaurs

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Abstract

THE dinosaurs are subdivided into Saurischia and Ornithischia on the basis of their pelvic girdles1, which differ chiefly in the position of the pubis. In saurischians the pubis extends forward and downward whereas in ornithischians the supposed homologue of the pubis—the postpubis—is directed backward and downward parallel to the ischium. New finds from Mongolia, however, show that some carnivorous dinosaurs had a pubis orientated parallel to the ischium. As I report here, such a pubis has been found in the dromaeosaurids2, the segnosaurids3 and a new genus from the Khara Khutul locality in south-east Mongolia, which has not yet been described and possibly represents a new family.

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  1. Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Geological Institute, Ulan-Bator, Mongolia

    RINCHEN BARSBOLD

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  1. RINCHEN BARSBOLD
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BARSBOLD, R. Opisthopubic pelvis in the carnivorous dinosaurs. Nature 279, 792–793 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/279792a0

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