An international team of paleontologists recently described a new species of titanosaur, whose fossilized remains were discovered at the Orcau-1 excavation site in the southern Spanish Pyrenees.
Abditosaurus kuehnei
Described in the review Nature Ecology & Evolutionthis 70.5 million year old fossil is the specimen of titanosaur the most complete ever discovered in Europeas well as the largest found in the Ibero-Armorican arc, encompassing theSpain and the south of France to Upper Cretaceous. baptized Abditosaurus kuehneiit was regarding 17.5 meters long and weighed around 14 tons.
If the first fossilized remains of this massive creature had been discovered in 1954 by the German paleontologist Walter Kuehnefieldwork over the following decades unearthed a total of 53 skeletal elements, including several teeth, vertebrae, ribs, limb bones, scapula and pelvis, as well as a semi-articulated fragment of the neck.
Titanosaurs were a particularly diverse and widespread group of sauropod dinosaurs that lived between 83 and 66 million years ago. Quadrupeds and phytophagous, these prehistoric giants had a massive body and an extremely elongated neck allowing them to access all types of plants. At that time, theEurope boiled down to a vast archipelago made up of dozens of islands, providing limited food resources for the species of titanosaurs inhabiting them, which therefore turned out to be less imposing than the specimen discovered in the Pyrénées.
« Late Cretaceous European titanosaurs tended to be smaller due to their evolution in island conditions “, explains the paleontologist Bernat Vila, lead author of the study. ” There are many fossil records of this recurring evolutionary trend in earthly history, which is why we were amazed by the large dimensions of this specimen.. »
A giant probably originating from Africa
According to the study authors, Abditosaurus kuehnei probably belonged to a group of titanosaurs saltasaurins clumps ofSouth America and D’Africawho reached the Ibero-Armorican arc taking advantage of a global drop in sea level that reactivated the migration routes between theAfrica and theEurope.
« During the Jurassic and Cretaceous, Iberia was the connecting point between Eurasia, Africa and North America “, highlighted Miguel Moreno-Asanza, co-author of the study. ” Comparing the characteristics of Abditosaurus to those of the fauna of these continents helps us understand when these connections took place.. »
