On the spinosaurid theropod teeth from the early Barremian (Early Cretaceous) Blesa Formation (Spain)

Spinosaurids are one of the most abundant theropods from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. The published fossil record consists mainly of teeth. A good example is La Cantalera-1 site in the Blesa Formation (Spain). This site represents a marshy environment with periodic droughts, resulting in a non-permanent body of water. Theropod dinosaur teeth are frequent. Seventeen spinosaurid teeth have been studied using qualitative and quantitative features, including a statistical analysis, in order to compare them with the known spinosaurid record from Spain. In La Cantalera-1 we recognise two different morphotypes: Baryonychinae indet. and Spinosaurinae? indet. Baryonychinae indet. was produced by baryonychines close to Baryonyx; teeth with similar morphology have been described in other sites from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. Teeth tentatively attributed to Spinosaurinae? indet. were produced by spinosaurines close to Spinosaurus. This morphotype could provide new evidence of the presence of spinosaurines in the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. The small size of the teeth from La Cantalera-1 when compared with those from other sites is interpreted as the result of the conditions characteristic of the deposit area, which represents an ecosystem unable to sustain large-sized organisms.