High European sauropod dinosaur diversity during Jurassic–Cretaceous transition in Riodeva (Teruel, Spain)

Abstract:  Up to now, more than 40 dinosaur sites have been found in the latest Jurassic – earliest Cretaceous sedimentary outcrops (Villar del Arzobispo Formation) of Riodeva (Iberian Range, Spain). Those already excavated, as well as other findings, provide a large and diverse number of sauropod remains, suggesting a great diversity for this group in the Iberian Peninsula during this time. Vertebrae and ischial remains from Riodevan site RD-13 are assigned to Turiasaurus riodevensis (a species described in RD-10, Barrihonda site), which is part of the Turiasauria clade. This is the first time that a taxon is attributed to Turiasaurus genus out of its type site. A Neosauropod caudal vertebra from the RD-11 site has been classified as Diplodocinae indet., supporting the previous attribution on an ilion also found in Riodeva (CPT-1074) referring to the Diplodocidae clade. New remains from the RD-28, RD-41 and RD-43 sites, of the same age, among which there are caudal vertebrae, are assigned to Macronaria. New sauropod footprints from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation complete the extraordinary sauropod record coming to light in the area. The inclusion of other sauropods from different contemporaneous exposures in Teruel within the Turiasauria clade adds new evidence of a great diversity of sauropods in Iberia during the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition. Turiasauria distribution contributes to the understanding of European and global palaeobiogeography.     

NEW MULTITUBERCULATE MAMMALS FROM THE HAUTERIVIAN/BARREMIAN TRANSITION OF EUROPE (IBERIAN PENINSULA)

Abstract: New multituberculate mammals from the Hauterivian/Barremian transition of Europe are described. They were found in the late Hauterivian‐early Barremian fossiliferous locality of La Cantalera (Josa, Teruel, Spain), one of the Early Cretaceous sites in the Aragonese branch of the Iberian Ranges, in northeastern Iberia. The fossils have been assigned to at least three taxa on the basis of nine isolated teeth: a new pinheirodontid taxon, Cantalera abadi gen. et sp. nov.; a representative of the eobaatarid Eobaatar; a taxon described as Plagiaulacidae or Eobaataridae gen. et sp. indet.; and other as Plagiaulacida indet. These fossils have increased the resolution of European Early Cretaceous multituberculate mammalian biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeography: the oldest representative of Eobaatar is described here; a taxon is assigned to ?Plagiaulacidae, in which case it would be the first of this family in the Iberian Peninsula; and the discovery of a new late Hauterivian pinheirodontid taxon demonstrates greater biodiversity and a wider distribution for these multituberculates than was previously known. The mutituberculate fauna of La Cantalera consists of endemic taxa (Pinheirodontidae), which were restricted to what is now Western Europe, and others (Eobaataridae) which have also been described in Asia. Consistent with the Iberian record of late Barremian gobiconodontid mammals, the presence of Eobaatar in Iberia with representatives from the late Hauterivian to late Barremian, as well as in the Aptian or Albian of Mongolia, indicates that faunal exchanges between Europe and Asia could have existed for most of the Early Cretaceous, either sporadically or constantly.