Kurupi itaata Iori et al., 2021 (new genus and species)
(Partial hip girdle of Kurupi itaata, from Iori et al., 2021)
Meaning of name: Kurupi = Guarani deity of fertility and sexuality [referencing the fact that the fossils were found near “Motel Paraíso”, which, in the authors’ words, is “a place intended for intimate encounters”]; itaata = hard rock [referring to the very cemented rocks where it was found]
Age: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)
Where found: Marília Formation, São Paulo, Brazil
How much is known: Several incomplete tail vertebrae and a partial hip girdle of one individual.
Notes: Kurupi was a medium-sized abelisaurid theropod, estimated as having been about 5 m long. Its hips and tail exhibit signs of large attachment surfaces for leg muscles, suggesting that it may have had adaptations for swift or efficient locomotion. Kurupi is one of the few dinosaurs known from the Marília Formation.
(Several other dinosaurs have been previously described as being from the Marília Formation, including the also newly named Ypupiara. However, a recent study classifies the sites most of them come from as part of a separate rock unit, the Serra da Galga Formation.)
Reference: Iori, F.V., H. Ismael de Araújo-Júnior, S.A. Simionato Tavares, T. da Silva Marinho, and A.G. Martinelli. 2021. New theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil improves abelisaurid diversity. Journal of South American Earth Sciences advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.jsames.2021.103551
