Gondwanan dinosaurs, though less well-known than their Laurasian counterpar
ts, are being discovered and described at an ever accelerating pace. Dinosa
urs are known from every major Gondwanan landmass, including South America,
Africa, Antarctica, Australia, India, Madagascar and New Zealand. Much of
the Gondwanan dinosaur literature includes speculation on vicariant and dis
persal events relating to the fragmentation of Gondwana during the Jurassic
and Cretaceous. These prolific biogeographic hypotheses are often inconclu
sive, speculative in nature, and untestable with the data at hand. To formu
late well-supported biogeographic hypotheses, resolved dinosaur phylogenies
and sound hypotheses of Earth history are necessary. Other factors, such a
s taphonomy, depositional setting, and missing taxonomic, temporal and geog
raphic data, also contribute to understanding dinosaur faunal compositions.
Additional phylogenetic information, a continuation of the current explora
tion and discovery, and knowledge of recent advances in tectonic plate reco
nstructions are paramount to developing a well-supported view of Gondwanan
dinosaur biogeography. (C)1999 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserve
d.