Spanish paleontologists have uncovered the first skeletal evidence of Diplodocus outside North America. Researchers recovering 14 caudal vertebrae and chevron bones at the La Tejeria site in Teruel, Spain, published findings in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, confirming the 150-million-year-old specimen belongs to the iconic long-necked sauropod genus.
Fossil Discovery at the La Tejeria Site
Researchers working at the rich La Tejeria fossil site in the El Castellar municipality of eastern Spain have recovered fossils comprising 14 caudal vertebrae and several chevron bones from sediments dating back around 150 million years. The excavation, led by specialists from the Dinopolis Foundation in Teruel, adds a significant specimen to a growing list of giant Jurassic sauropods found in the area. Researching writing in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology noted that they found the first skeletal evidence of the Diplodocus dinosaur outside of North America at the site in eastern Spain.
First identified from fossils found in Wyoming in 1877, the herbivorous Diplodocus, known for its long neck, whip-like tail and four sturdy legs, is among the world’s most recognisable dinosaurs. While the giant dinosaur is famous worldwide—not least because of the famous skeletal cast nicknamed “Dippythat for years greeted visitors entering the British Natural History Museum—the authors wrote that the
European diplodocid fossil record is scarce and fragmentary.”
“The anatomical study and evolutionary analyses we conducted have allowed us to identify the El Castellar specimen as belonging to the genus Diplodocus. It is one of the most complete Diplodocids discovered to date in Europe and represents the first evidence of this genus outside North America.”
Sergio Sanchez Fenollosa, lead author
Anatomical Analysis and Classification
The research paper published on Monday concluded that the find was one of the most complete diplodocid skeletons from Europe.
It said that systematic study and analysis of 14 caudal vertebrae and several chevron bones reveals that it can be confidently referred to as Diplodocus,
one of several genuses in the diplodocid family of sauropod dinosaurs.
The authors wrote that “This discovery consists of the first evidence of Diplodocus outside North America (Morrison Formation) and is one of the strongest piece of evidence that supports the exchange of continental faunas between North America and Europe during the Late Jurassic.” Alberto Cobos, managing director of the Dinopolis Foundation and a co-author of the study, said the specimen likely measured around 25m in length.
Reconstructing Prehistoric Migration Routes
Dinosaurs like the Diplodocus and Stegosaurus were once thought to have lived exclusively on the North American continent, but more and more evidence to the contrary is now being unearthed. During the time of the dinosaurs the continents were only just starting to drift apart.
In recent decades scientists have begun to theorize that the proto-Atlantic Ocean still had ephemeral land bridges or episodic sea regressions or some other temporary means of crossing that occasionally enabled land-based dinosaurs to move vast distances between the separating continents. Recent fossil finds, not least in Spain and Portugal near the Atlantic coast, have been further reinforcing this notion as part of a land bridge thought to have connected Iberia to what’s now Canada.
The authors said the find constitutes one of the strongest pieces of evidence of episodic dispersal events and faunal exchanges across the proto-North Atlantic Ocean during the late Kimmeridgian–early Tithonian
period, approximated 150 million years ago.
Connecting Iberia and North America
The geographical implications of the Teruel discovery point to ancient terrestrial pathways across the globe. Another route linked North America with Scandinavia, and one much further south connected what’s now Brazil to Cameroon.
The findings cement Teruel and the La Tejeria fossil site in the El Castellar municipality as reference points for understanding the vast diversity of giant sauropods. The team from the Dinopolis Foundation in Teruel continues studying the region where the dinosaur joined a growing list of giant sauropods found in the area.