Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation (meaning Reptile Clay and Sandstone) also known as the Argiles Rutilantes Formation[1] is an early Maastrichtian[2] French geologic formation in the département of Var preserving the remains of several types of dinosaurs and other extinct organisms.[3]
Fossil content
An abelisaurid similar to Arcovenator is known from Département des Bouches-du-Rhone, while enantiornithean and indeterminate avialan remains are known from Département du Var.[2]
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Color key
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Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
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Dinosaurs
Ornithischians
Sauropods
| Sauropods of the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation
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| Genus
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Ampelosaurus
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A. atacis
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Bellevue locality
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Upper
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Three dorsal vertebrae
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A lirainosaurine lithostrotian.
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| Atsinganosaurus[7]
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A. meridionalis
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La Bastide Neuve, Velaux
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Lower/Upper
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A partial skeleton consists of vertebrae, teeth, and sacrum.
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A lirainosaurine lithostrotian
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| Garrigatitan[8]
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G. meridionalis
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Velaux-La-Bastide Neuve
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Upper
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A holotype consists of a cervical rib, a right humerus, a right ulna, and a left femur.
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A lirainosaurine lithostrotian
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| Hypselosaurus
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H. priscus
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Lower
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A partial femur, fibula and possible tibia and a pair of associated caudal vertebrae.
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A titanosaurian sauropod
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Theropods
| Theropods of the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation
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| Genus
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Abelisauridae Indet.
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Indeterminate
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A large abelisaurid that was similar to Arcovenator.
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| Arcovenator[9]
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A. escotae
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Jas Neuf Sud
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Lower
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A complete basicranium articulated with its right postorbital, a tooth, a left squamosal, an anterior caudal vertebra and a right tibia.
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A large majungasaurine abelisaurid
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| Castignovolucris[10]
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C. sebei
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Castigno valley
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Lower
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A right coracoid
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A enanthiornithe bird
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| Gargantuavis
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G. philoinos
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Lower
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A fragmentary sets of a pelvic vertebrae (synsacrum).
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A gargantuaviid avialan
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| Martinavis[11]
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M. cruzyensis
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Massecaps locality
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Lower
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A complete uncrushed right humerus.
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An enantiornithe bird
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| Pyroraptor[12]
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P. olympius
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La Boucharde locality
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Lower/Upper
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Paratypes consists of the equivalent claw of the right foot, the left second metatarsal, a complete second toe claw, a right ulna (long forearm bone), two teeth, five pedal digits, one manual digit, a piece of a metacarpal, a right radius, a dorsal vertebra, and a tail vertebra.
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A dromaosaurid theropod
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| Theropoda Indet.
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Indeterminate
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Previously referred to "Megalosaurus" pannoniensis.
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| Variraptor
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V. mechinorum
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La Bastide Neuve
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Lower
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A posterior dorsal vertebra, a sacrum with five fused vertebrae, and an ilium
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A dromaeosaurid theropod
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Pterosaurs
| Pterosaurs of the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation
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| Genus
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Mistralazhdarcho[13]
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M. maggii
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Velaux–La Bastide Neuve
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Lower
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A specimen consists of a partial skeleton with the skull.
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A azhdarchid pterosaur
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Crocodilians
Turtles
Fish
| Fishes of the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation
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| Genus
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Hybodontiformes Indet.
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Indeterminate
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| Lepisosteidae Indet.
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Indeterminate
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Mammals
| Mammals of the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation
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| Genus
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Mistralestes
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M. arcensis
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La Cairanne-Highway
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Lower
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A mandible (Right dentary fragment with p5 to m3 and roots of p4).
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A zhelestid eutherian
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| Valentinella
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V. vitrollense
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Vitrolles-La Plaine
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Damaged upper and lower jaw fragments.
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A zhelestid eutherian
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Fossil Eggs
| Eggs of the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation
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| Genus
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Megaloolithus
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M. aureliensis
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| M. petralta
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| M. sp.
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Arthropods
| Arthropods of the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation
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| Genus
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Dinocarcinus[15]
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D. velauciensis
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Velaux-La Bastide Neuve
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Isolated claws
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A large-sized portunoid crab
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Plants
| Plants of the Alcântara Formation
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| Genus
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Species
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Location
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Stratigraphic position
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Material
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Notes
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Images
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| Amblyochara
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A. begudiana
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| Peckichara
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P. cancellata
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| P. pectinata
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| Platychara
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P. caudata
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| Saportanella
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S. maslovi
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See also
References
- ^ Tabuce et al., 2013
- ^ a b Weishampel et al., 2004, pp.588-593
- ^ Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation at Fossilworks.org
- ^ Pascal Godefroit; Géraldine Garcia; Bernard Gomez; Koen Stein; Aude Cincotta; Ulysse Lefèvre; Xavier Valentin (2017). "Extreme tooth enlargement in a new Late Cretaceous rhabdodontid dinosaur from Southern France". Scientific Reports. 7 (1) 13098. Bibcode:2017NatSR...713098G. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13160-2. PMC 5658417. PMID 29074952.
- ^ Czepiński, Ł.; Madzia, D. (2025). "Exploring the diversity and disparity of rhabdodontomorph ornithopods from the Late Cretaceous European archipelago". Scientific Reports. 15 (1) 15209. 15209. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-98083-z. PMC 12044058. PMID 40307357.
- ^ Garcia, Géraldine; Suberbiola, Xabier Pereda (11 April 2003). "A new species of Struthiosaurus (Dinosauria: Ankylosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous of Villeveyrac (southern France)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 23 (1): 156–165. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2003)23[156:ANSOSD]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 140174401.
- ^ Garcia, G.; Amico, S.; Fournier, F.; Thouand, E.; Valentin, X. (2010). "A new Titanosaur genus (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of southern France and its paleobiogeographic implications". Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 181 (3): 269–277. doi:10.2113/gssgfbull.181.3.269.
- ^ Verónica Díez Díaz; Géraldine Garcia; Xabier Pereda Suberbiola; Benjamin Jentgen-Ceschino; Koen Stein; Pascal Godefroit; Xavier Valentin (2020). "A new titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Velaux-La-Bastide Neuve (southern France)". Historical Biology. 33 (11): 2998–3017. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1841184. S2CID 234404741.
- ^ Thierry Tortosa; Eric Buffetaut; Nicolas Vialle; Yves Dutour; Eric Turini; Gilles Cheylan (2014). "A new abelisaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of southern France: Palaeobiogeographical implications". Annales de Paléontologie. 100 (1): 63–86. Bibcode:2014AnPal.100...63T. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2013.10.003.
- ^ Buffetaut, E.; Angst, D.; Tong, H. (2023). "A new enantiornithine bird from Upper Cretaceous non-marine deposits at Villespassans (Hérault, southern France)". Annales de Paléontologie. 109 (1). 102585. Bibcode:2023AnPal.10902585B. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2022.102585. S2CID 257863645.
- ^ Cyril A. Walker; Eric Buffetaut; Gareth J. Dyke (2007). "Large euenantiornithine birds from the Cretaceous of southern France, North America and Argentina". Geological Magazine. 144 (6): 977–986. Bibcode:2007GeoM..144..977W. doi:10.1017/S0016756807003871. S2CID 129483776.
- ^ Allain R.; Taquet P. (2000). "A new genus of Dromaeosauridae (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of France". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 20 (2): 404–407. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0404:angodd]2.0.co;2. S2CID 85651716.
- ^ Romain Vullo; Géraldine Garcia; Pascal Godefroit; Aude Cincotta; Xavier Valentin (2018). "Mistralazhdarcho maggii, gen. et sp. nov., a new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of southeastern France". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 38 (4): (1)–(16). doi:10.1080/02724634.2018.1502670. S2CID 91265861.
- ^ Blanco A (2021). "Importance of the postcranial skeleton in eusuchian phylogeny: Reassessing the systematics of allodaposuchid crocodylians". PLOS ONE. 16 (6): e0251900. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1651900B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0251900. PMC 8189472. PMID 34106925.
- ^ Robin, Ninon; van Bakel, Barry W. M.; Hyžný, Matúš; Cincotta, Aude; Garcia, Géraldine; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Godefroit, Pascal; Valentin, Xavier (2019-12-27). "The oldest freshwater crabs: claws on dinosaur bones". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 20220. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-56180-w. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6934782. PMID 31882600.
Bibliography
- Vullo, R.; Garcia, G.; Godefroit, P.; Cincotta, A.; Valentin, X. (2018), "Mistralazhdarcho maggii, gen. et sp. nov., A New Azhdarchid Pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Southeastern France", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 38 (4): 1–16, doi:10.1080/02724634.2018.1502670
- Blanco, A.; Brochu, C. A. (2016), "Intra- and interspecific variability in allodaposuchid crocodylomorphs and the status of western European taxa", Historical Biology, 29: 395–408
- Martin, J. E.; Delfino, M.; Garcia, G.; Godefroit, P.; Berton, S.; Valentin, X. (2016), "New specimens of Allodaposuchus precedens from France: intraspecific variability and the diversity of European Late Cretaceous eusuchians", Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 176 (3): 607–631, doi:10.1111/zoj.12331
- Tabuce, Rodolphe; Tortosa, Thierry; Vianey-Liaud, Monique; Garcia, Géraldine; Lebrun, Renaud; Godefroit, Pascal; Dutour, Yves; Berton, Sévérine; Valentin, Xavier; Cheylan, Gilles (2013), "New eutherian mammals from the Late Cretaceous of Aix-en-Provence Basin, south-eastern France", Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 169 (3): 653–672, doi:10.1111/zoj.12074, ISSN 0024-4082
- Martin, J. E (2007), "New material of the Late Cretaceous globidontan Acynodon iberoccitanus (Crocodylia) from southern France", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 27 (2): 362–372, doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[362:NMOTLC]2.0.CO;2
- Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (2004), The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 1–880, ISBN 0-520-24209-2, retrieved 2019-02-21
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
- Le Loeuff, J.; Buffetaut, É. (1998), "A new dromaeosaurid theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of southern France.", Oryctos, 1: 105–112
- Tong, H.; Gaffney, E. S.; Buffetaut, É. (1998), "Foxemys, a new side-necked turtle (Bothremydidae: Pelomedusoides) from the Late Cretaceous of France", American Museum Novitates (3251): 1–19
- Vianey-Liaud, M.; Mallan, P.; Buscail, O.; Montgelard, C. (1994), Review of French dinosaur eggshells: morphology, structure, mineral, and organic composition. In K. Carpenter, K. F. Hirsch, and J. R. Horner (eds.), Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 151–183
Further reading
- R. Cousin, G. Breton, R. Fournier and J.-P. Watte. 1994. Dinosaur egglaying and nesting in France. K. Carpenter, K.F. Hirsch & J.R. Horner (eds.) Dinosaur Eggs and Babies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 56–74
- J. Le Loeuff, E. Buffetaut, P. Méchin and A. Méchin-Salessy. 1992. The first record of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs (Saurischia, Theropoda) in the Maastrichtian of southern Europe: palaeobiogeographical implications. Bulletin de la Société géologique de la France 163(3):337-343
- R. Dughi and F. Sirugue. 1958. Sur les oeufs de dinosaures du bassin fluvio-lacustre de Basse-Provence. Comptes Rendus du Congrès National des Sociétés Savantes, Section des Sciences, Paris 83:183-20