Teruel, Jul 18 (EFE).- Researchers from the Dinópolis Foundation of Teruel have discovered the largest Jurassic ornithopod in Europe, it has been named “Oblitosaurus bunnueli”, in honor of the famous Turolense film director Luis Buñuel.
This research has resulted in the description of a new genus and a new species of ornithopod dinosaur, the details of which have been made public in the latest issue of the prestigious scientific journal Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, as explained by the Foundation in a press release.
Oblitosaurus is the largest ornithopod from the Jurassic of Europe, since its length could reach 7 meters, and it inhabited the coastal ecosystems of the eastern peninsula during the Late Jurassic (approximately 150-145 million years ago).
The size of Oblitosaurus is exceptionally large for an ornithopod from this geological time period, in fact, it resembles other “more modern” ornithopods from the Lower Cretaceous (approximately 125 million years ago) in size, as confirmed by the Dinópolis Foundation.
The Oblitosaurus bunnueli fossils (femur, tibia, fibula, calcaneus, talus, metatarsus, phalanges of the foot and hand, and a tooth) come from paleontological excavations carried out by the Dinópolis Foundation at the Barrihonda-El Humero site, located in Upper Jurassic sediments in the municipality of Riodeva (Teruel).
The first author of the study, Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa, has pointed out that “the presence of unique characteristics present in the fossil bones studied, different from those of other similar dinosaurs, has allowed us to define this new genus and this new species of ornithopod dinosaur”.
“These particularities, along with others including its size, are what make Oblitosaurus bunnueli a very important dinosaur for understanding and reconstructing the evolutionary history of this lineage,” he detailed.
According to the co-author of the publication, Francisco Javier Verdú, “Oblitosaurus bunnueli allows us to better understand the diversity of this group of dinosaurs during the Jurassic.”
The managing director of the Dinópolis Foundation and co-author of the study, Alberto Cobos, stated that “after planning an exhaustive study of these ornithopod fossils, we have achieved excellent scientific results. It could be said that, due to the large dimensions of the sauropod and stegosaur fossils from this same site, those assigned to ornithopods had gone somewhat unnoticed.”
“That is why we have called the genre of the new dinosaur, Oblitosaurus ‘forgotten lizard’ and, through one of its best-known films, Los Olvidados, we have related it to one of the most famous directors in the history of cinema, Luis Buñuel from Teruel; hence the name of the new species O. bunnueli”, he pointed out.
The publication is part of the investigations of the FOCONTUR Research Group, financed through the Department of Science, University and Knowledge Society of the Government of Aragon.
In addition, it has the support of the Aragonese Development Institute, and is included in the research of the Dinosaur Paleontology Unit of Teruel, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain.
The material studied is deposited in the Aragonese Museum of Paleontology in Teruel and is exhibited in the paleontological museum of Dinópolis.
