Dinosaur Fossils from the Upper Cretaceous of Crimea

Abstract

A new study of the holotype of Riabininohadros weberae from the Upper Cretaceous (upper Maastrichtian) of Crimea (Besh-Kosh) reveals previously unknown fragments of femur, astragalus, and calcaneus. This taxon is characterized by a complex of primitive characters found in Iguanodontia and basal Ornithischia and its phylogenetic position can be defined as Styracosterna indet. The second dinosaur record from Crimea (Aleshino) is represented by a fragmentary skeleton, including cervical and dorsal vertebrae. It may belong to a derived iguanodontian or a primitive hadrosauroid. Thus, at least two species of dinosaurs coexisted in the Maastrichtian of Crimea.