The dinosaurs of the Maestrat Basin: Evolution of hadrosauriforms in the eastern Iberian Peninsula

Andrés Santos Cubedo

Abstract


The Maestrat Basin, in the Iberian Range, has proved to be a key point for the study of the hadrosauriform dinosaurs of the Lower Cretaceous in Europe. The Aliaga, Galve, and Morella sub-basins have all yielded abundant fossils of Mesozoic vertebrates, among which dinosaurs, and especially hadrosauriform styracosternan ornithopods, are the most abundant group from these areas. In this article, we review recent findings in the Maestrat Basin, which suggest that the diversity of this clade during the Barremian–Albian interval was greater than originally thought, providing us with valuable information for the study and understanding of the evolution of these dinosaurs.

Keywords


Ornithopoda; Dinosauria; Laurasia; Lower Cretaceous; Iberian Peninsula

Full Text: PDF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.14.24534

References


Alcalá, L. (2019). Dinosaurios de la península ibérica. Susaeta Ediciones.

García-Cobeña, J., Verdú, F. J., & Cobos, A. (2022). Abundance of large ornitho­pod dinosaurs in the El Castellar Formation (Hauterivian-Barremian, Lower Cretaceous) of the Peñagolosa sub-basin (Teruel, Spain). Journal of Iberian Geology, 48, 107–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41513-021-00185-w

Gasulla, J. M., Escaso, F., Narváez, I., Ortega, F., & Sanz, J. L. (2015). A new sail-backed styracosternan (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Morella, Spain. PLOS ONE, 10, e0144167. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144167

Holgado, B., Pêgas, R. V., Canudo, J. I., Fortuny, J., Rodrigues, T., Company, J., & Kellner, A. W. A. (2019). On a new crested pterodactyloid from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula and the radiation of the clade Anhangueria. Scientific Reports, 9(4940). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41280-4

Lockwood, J. A. F., Martill, D. M., & Maidment, S. C. R. (2021). A new hadrosauriform dinosaur from the Wessex Formation, Wealden Group (Early Cretaceous), of the Isle of Wight, southern England. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 19(12), 847–888. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2021.1978005

Madzia, D., Arbour, V. M., Boyd, C. A., Farke, A. A., Cruzado-Caballero, P., & Evans, D. C. (2021). The phylogenetic nomenclature of ornithischian dinosaurs. PeerJ, 9, e12362. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12362

McDonald, A. T., Espílez, E., Mampel, L., Kirkland, J. I., & Alcalá, L. (2012). An unusual new basal iguanodont (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Teruel, Spain. Zootaxa, 3595, 61–76. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3595.1.3

Medrano-Aguado, F., Parrilla-Bel, J., Gasca, J. M., Alonso, A., & Canudo, J. I. (2023). Ornithopod diversity in the Lower Cretaceous of Spain: New styracosternan remains from the Barremian of the Maestrazgo Basin (Teruel province, Spain). Cretaceous Research, 144, 105458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105458

Meseguer, S., & Santos-Cubedo, A. (2021). Nuestros dinosaurios. Enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Tierra, 29(1), 5–17.

Norman, D. B. (2013). On the taxonomy and diversity of Wealden iguanodontian dinosaurs (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda). Revue de Paléobiologie, 32, 385–404.

Norman, D. B. (2015). On the histology, osteology, and systematic position of the Wealden (Hastings group) dinosaur Hypselospinus fittoni (Iguanodontia: Styracosterna). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 173(1), 92–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12193

Pereda-Suberbiola, X., & Ruiz-Omeñaca, J. I. (2005). Los primeros descubrimientos de dinosaurios en España. Revista Española de Paleontología, 20(3), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.20.3.20576

Santafé, J. V., Casanovas, M. L., Sanz, J. L., & Calzada, S. (1982). Geología y Paleontología (Dinosaurios) de las Capas rojas de Morella (Castellón, España). Diputación Provincial de Castellón & Diputación de Barcelona.

Santos-Cubedo, A., García-Robles, J., Poza, B., de Santisteban, C., & Meseguer, S. (2016). Vertebrados mesozoicos en la provincia de Castellón. Loisele Ediciones.

Santos-Cubedo, A., de Santisteban, C., Poza, B., & Meseguer, S. (2021). A new styracosternan hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Early Cretaceous of Portell, Spain. PLOS ONE, 16(7), e0253599. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253599

Schopf, T. J. M. (1984). Rates of evolution and the notion of “living fossils”. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 12, 245–292. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ea.12.050184.001333

Verdú, F. J. (2017). Sistemática, filogenia y paleobiología de Iguanodon galvensis (Ornithopoda, Dinosauria) del Barremiense inferior (Cretácico Inferior) de Teruel (España). [PhD thesis], Universitat de València.

Verdú, F. J., Royo-Torres, R., Cobos, A., & Alcalá, L. (2015). Perinates of a new species of Iguanodon (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from the lower Barremian of Galve (Teruel, Spain). Cretaceous Research, 56, 250–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2015.05.010

Verdú, F. J., Royo-Torres, R., Cobos, A., & Alcalá, L. (2018). New systematic and phylogenetic data about the early Barremian Iguanodon galvensis (Ornithopoda: Iguanodontoidea) from Spain. Historical Biology, 30, 437–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2017.1287179

Verdú, F. J., Royo-Torres, R., Cobos, A., & Alcalá, L. (2021). Systematics and paleobiology of a new articulated axial specimen referred to Iguanodon cf. galvensis (Ornithopoda, Iguanodontoidea). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 40, e1878202. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.1878202

Weishampel, D. B., Barrett, P. M., Coria, R. A., Le Loeuff, J., Xu, X., Zhao, X. J., Sahni, A., Gomani, E. M. P., & Noto, C. R. (2004). Dinosaur distribution. En D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson, & H. Osmólska (Eds.), The Dinosauria (Second Edition) (pp. 517–606). University of California Press.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.