Diplodocus, Long Thought Exclusively American, Turns Up in Spain
The 14 tail vertebrae and chevron bones suggest the giant sauropod crossed between North America and Europe during the Late Jurassic, researchers said.
- Paleontologists have identified the first confirmed Diplodocus fossils outside North America, discovered in the Castellar municipality of Teruel, Spain. The remains consist of 14 well-preserved tail vertebrae and several chevron bones.
- Dating back to around 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic, the specimen's presence in Iberia suggests dinosaurs migrated between North America and Europe using temporary land bridges across the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Stretching approximately 25 meters, the Spanish Diplodocus was comparable in size to its American relatives, confirming its classification as a giant sauropod of the Spanish Jurassic alongside species like Turiasaurus and Losillasaurus.
- Graduate student Sergio Fenollosa and Alberto Cobos, managing director of the Joint Paleontology Foundation Teruel-Dinópolis, detailed the findings in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, providing evidence for faunal exchange between continents.
- The remains are now on display at the Aragones Museum in Teruel, positioning the region as a reference point for understanding giant sauropod diversity, including Turiasaurus and Losillasaurus.
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Among other things, Spanish scientists want to have demonstrated with 14 tail vertebrae that representatives of the iconic Diplodocus dinosaurs also lived in Europe. Their specimen is said to have been 25 meters long.
Fossils found in Spain are the first evidence that a dinosaur of the diplodocus genus also lived in Europe.
Paleontologists found 14 tail vertebrae and chevrons in Spain about 150 million years old.
In Spain, the fossil of a 25-metre-long Diplodocus has been discovered. The find is considered the first proof that these long-neck dinosaurs also lived outside North America.
The remains of a diplodocus dinosaur were discovered in Spain - it was found for the first time not on the territory of the United StatesSpain found the first remains of a diplodocus outside the United States. The find may shed light on the spread of the species in the Jurassic period.
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