title: A new primitive Neornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of Patagonia with gut contents.
abstract: We describe a new species of an ornithischian dinosaur, Isaberrysaura mollensis gen. et sp. nov. The specimen, consisting in an almost complete skull and incomplete postcranium was collected from the marine-deltaic deposits of the Los Molles Formation (Toarcian-Bajocian), being the first reported dinosaur for this unit, one of the oldest from Neuquén Basin, and the first neornithischian dinosaur known from the Jurassic of South America. Despite showing a general stegosaurian appearance, the extensive phylogenetic analysis carried out depicts Isaberrysaura mollensis gen. et sp. nov. as a basal ornithopod, suggesting that both Thyreophora and neornithischians could have achieved significant convergent features. The specimen was preserved articulated and with some of its gut content place in the middle-posterior part of the thoracic cavity. Such stomach content was identified as seeds, most of them belonging to the Cycadales group. This finding reveals a possible and unexpected role of this ornithischian species as seed-dispersal agent.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro-Conicet, Av. Gral. J. A. Roca 1242, General Roca (8332), Río Negro, Argentina.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salgado
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias-IUCA, Universidad de Zaragoza, C/Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: José I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Canudo
authors.affiliation: Museo Provincial de Ciencias Naturales "Profesor Dr. Juan A. Olsacher", Dirección Provincial de Minería, Etcheluz y Ejército Argentino, Zapala (8340), provincia del Neuquén, Argentina.|Departamento Geología y Petróleo, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Buenos Aires 1400, Neuquén (8300), provincia del Neuquén, Argentina.
authors.forename: Alberto C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Garrido
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Geobiotec. Departamento de Ciências da Terra. Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-526. Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moreno-Azanza
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, División Paleobotánica, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque S/N, La Plata (B1900FWA), Argentina.|Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina.
authors.forename: Leandro C A
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina.|Museo "Carmen Funes". Plaza Huincul (8318), Neuquén, Argentina.
authors.forename: Rodolfo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Coria
authors.affiliation: Museo Provincial de Ciencias Naturales "Profesor Dr. Juan A. Olsacher", Dirección Provincial de Minería, Etcheluz y Ejército Argentino, Zapala (8340), provincia del Neuquén, Argentina.|Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gasca
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D025061:Dinosaurs / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D005580:Fossils / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D060434:Herbivory; D007422:Intestines / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013909:Thorax / Q000033:anatomy & histology