Paleontologists from the Teruel-Dinópolis Paleontological Foundation and the Alpuente Paleontological Museum have published research in the scientific journal Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia revealing a surprising diversity of Jurassic ornithopods. The study analyzes new fossils from sites in Riodeva, Veguillas de la Sierra (Teruel), and Alpuente (Valencia), dating to the Late Jurassic (approximately 150 million years ago).
The research describes new fossils of ornithopod dinosaurs, characterized by their plant-based diet, bipedal and/or quadrupedal locomotion, a horned beak, a short neck, and the absence of «armour.» Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa, a researcher from the Dinópolis Foundation and the lead author of the study, emphasizes the identification of two new types of ornithopods: small-sized dryosaurids and ankylopollexians, previously unknown in this region.
The coexistence of these new types alongside large ankylopollexians, such as Oblitosaurus bunnueli, in the Jurassic coastal ecosystems of eastern Iberia suggests a niche partitioning and a greater ecological complexity than previously imagined.
Specific Findings and Scientific Relevance
Maite Suñer, director of the Alpuente Paleontological Museum and co-author of the publication, highlights that direct remains of Late Jurassic ornithopods in Europe are very scarce, making each new finding highly significant. The research describes nearly half of all known findings in this area.
Alberto Cobos, director-manager of the Dinópolis Foundation and co-author of the article, emphasizes the discovery in Veguillas de la Sierra of one of the largest known ornithopod vertebrae from the Jurassic worldwide. This finding reinforces the presence of species such as Oblitosaurus bunnueli, the largest known ornithopod from the European Jurassic, measuring six to seven meters in length and described in 2023 based on fossils found in Riodeva.
This contribution from the Dinópolis Foundation, affiliated with the Department of Environment and Tourism of the Government of Aragón, forms part of the actions of the Research Group E04-23R FOCONTUR, funded by the Government of Aragón. Additionally, it is included in the research of the Teruel Paleontology Unit, funded by the Government of Spain through the project PID-2024-162804NB-100 (MICIU/AEI/FEDER, UE).
The excavation and laboratory work on the Valencian fossils has been financed by the Alpuente Town Hall and the Province of Valencia. The scientific article titled «Unravelling ornithopod diversity in the Late Jurassic coastal ecosystems of eastern Iberia (Spain)» has been prepared by paleontologists Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa, Francisco J. Verdú, Alberto Cobos, and Maite Suñer, and is available in open access.
