2023-09-28 13:20:57
The sediments that emerge in the region of The Ports of Morella They contain an abundant record of dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous, about 122 million years ago. In fact, some of the first dinosaur remains found in Spain were discovered in the area of Morella.
In recent years, numerous fossils of Mesozoic vertebrates have been found in the vicinity of the town, some of them with enormous relevance, including an important collection of ornithopod dinosaurs among which stands out Morelladon beltrani.
In this context, a team of paleontologists has recently published in the journal Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society a study that describes a new species of dinosaur that they have named Garumbatitan morellensis. The work is headed by Pedro Mochofrom Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and is part of the projects developed by the Evolutionary Biology Group of the UNIT in the Morella area.
The new species belongs to the popular group of sauropods, which is made up of quadrupedal herbivores with long tails and necks that were able to reach colossal dimensions. The remains of this new dinosaur were discovered in the sediments that emerge around the town of Morella.
In this site, one of the largest concentrations of sauropod dinosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous found so far in all of Europe has been recognized.
The material was found in the years 2005 and 2008 at the site of San Antonio de la Vespa (Morella), in which fossil elements of at least four individuals were identified, three of them belonging to the new species.
In this site, one of the largest concentrations of sauropod dinosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous found so far in all of Europe has been recognized. Sant Antoni de la Vespa thus constitutes a key town for the study of the dinosaur faunas of Spain in this time interval.
One of the individuals found stands out for its large size, with vertebrae more than 1 meter wide, and a femur that could be close to two meters high. Exceptionally, two almost complete articulated feet were found at the site, which are particularly rare in the fossil record.
General view of the Sant Antoni de la Vespa Site during the extraction of one of the Garumbatitan specimens. / GBE-UNED
Morphology and relationship
The article presents a detailed description of the fossil remains found in Sant Antoni de la Vespa and identifies a set of anatomical characteristics different from those of the rest of the sauropod dinosaurs.
Garumbatitan is characterized by the unique morphology of the femur (the upper leg bone) and the elements of the foot. The femur presents a common morphology in sauropods from the Upper Cretaceous.
On the other hand, this new study analyzes the kinship relationships of Garumbatitan morellensis and the rest of the sauropod dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula, the new species described in Morella being one of the most primitive members of a group of sauropods called Somphospondyli. This group is one of the most diverse and abundant during the Cretaceous and became extinct at the end of the Mesozoic.
The future restoration of the rest of the fossil material found at this site will add key information to understand the initial evolution of sauropods.
Finally, the study reveals the complex evolutionary history of sauropods from the European Cretaceous, particularly from the Iberian Peninsula, with species related to lineages present in Asia and North America, as well as with some groups close to forms of the African continent. This suggests the existence of moments of faunal dispersal between these continents.
Kinship relationships of Garumbatitan morellensis with some of the most relevant sauropods and bone remains of Garumbatitan morellensis. / GBE-UNED
The future restoration of the rest of the fossil material found at this site will add key information to understand the initial evolution of the sauropods that will dominate the dinosaur faunas during the millions of years that the Mesozoic era lasts.
The name of the new species Garumbatitan morellensis contains a double reference: Garumbatitan means “the giant of the Garumba” considering that the specimen was found at the base of the Garumba grinding wheel, one of the highest reliefs in the Els Ports region. The specific name morellensis refers to the locality in which the site is located.
The fossil remains of Garumbatitan morellensis they are part of one of the largest collections of fossil vertebrates from the Spanish Mesozoic deposited in the Museum Temps de Dinosaures de Morella and which is part of the Network of Museums of the Generalitat Valenciana.
Reference:
Mocho, P. “New sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Morella (Spain) provides new insights on the evolutionary history of Iberian somphospondylan titanosauriforms”. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Rights: Creative Commons.
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