First Diplodocus remains in Europe found in Spain
Paleontologists in Spain have reported the first skeletal remains of a dinosaur of the genus Diplodocus found outside North America. The bones were discovered at the La Tejería fossil site in the municipality of El Castellar, in the Teruel area in the east of the country, Deutsche Welle reports.
Remains approximately 150 million years old
A team from the Dinópolis Foundation in Teruel examined 14 caudal vertebrae and several chevron bones. The fossils are dated to approximately 150 million years ago. The results of the work were published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
The study authors said that a systematic analysis of the bones makes it possible to confidently assign them to the genus Diplodocus. The scientific paper also described the find as one of the most complete diplodocid skeletons known in Europe.
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Evidence of faunal exchange
Diplodocus was a long-necked herbivorous dinosaur with a long tail and belonged to the diplodocid family among sauropods. Until now, fossil remains of representatives of the genus Diplodocus had been found only in North America, including in the Morrison Formation.
According to the authors of the work, the discovery is significant evidence of episodic movements of land animals and faunal exchange between North America and Europe across the proto-North Atlantic at the end of the Kimmeridgian and the beginning of the Tithonian ages of the Jurassic period. Scientists suggest that approximately 150 million years ago, temporary land routes or periodic drops in sea level may have allowed dinosaurs to cross the space between the separating continents.
