2023/10/27 by Archana Sharma, ARCHANA SHARMA, Fernando E. Novas +3
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
paper · pdf · doi:10.54103/2039-4942/20032
openalex publication_date 2023/10/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
We describe an isolated, almost complete pedal ungual phalanx from the Middle Jurassic marine carbonate rocks of the Jaisalmer Basin, Rajasthan, north-western India. The ungual bone is triangular shaped, pointed, elongated, asymmetrical, dorsoventrally compressed, ventrally flat, bearing a shallow semi-circular excavation, and almost straight in lateral view. The morphological features, as well as its proportions closely resemble the pedal ungual phalanges of spinosaurid theropods, presently known dominantly from the Cretaceous. The affinity to spinosaurids is supported by bivariate and multivariate analyses. The ungual phalanx is tentatively identified as a basally branching Jurassic spinosaurid under Megalosauroidea. Considering the stratigraphical and geographical provenances, this contribution may represent the oldest record of a spinosaurid.