Ceratosaur palaeobiology: new insights on evolution and ecology of the southern rulers

Ceratosaur theropods ruled the Southern Hemisphere until the end of the Late Cretaceous. However, their origin was earlier, during the Early Jurassic, a fact which allowed the group to reach great morphological diversity. The body plans of the two main branches (Noasauridae and new name Etrigansauria: Ceratosauridae + Abelisauridae) are quite different; nevertheless, they are sister taxa. Abelisaurids have lost the ability to grasp in the most derived taxa, but the reduced forelimb might have had some display function. The ontogenetic changes are well known in Limusaurus which lost all their teeth and probably changed the dietary preference at maturity. The results presented here suggest that abelisaurids had different soft tissues on the skull. These tissues might have been associated with evolution of a strong cervicocephalic complex and should have allowed derived taxa (e.g. Majungasaurus and Carnotaurus) to have low-displacement headbutting matches. The ability to live in different semi-arid environment plus high morphological disparity allowed the ceratosaurs to become an evolutionary success.