Presence of diminutive hadrosaurids (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) in the Maastrichtian of the south-central Pyrenees (Spain)
In recent years a rich and diverse fauna of hadrosaurid dinosaurs has been described in the Upper Cretaceous of the Pyrenees. Recent<br />fieldwork carried out in the upper Maastrichtian levels of the Tremp Formation, in the south-central Pyrenees (province of Huesca, northeastern Spain), has...
| Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2015 |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Institution: | Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
| Repository: | CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/2812 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11336/2812 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Hadrosaurios Histología Enanismo Maastrichtiense Pirineos Península Ibérica Hadrosaurids Bone Histology Dwarfism Pyrenees Iberian Peninsula https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
| Summary: | In recent years a rich and diverse fauna of hadrosaurid dinosaurs has been described in the Upper Cretaceous of the Pyrenees. Recent<br />fieldwork carried out in the upper Maastrichtian levels of the Tremp Formation, in the south-central Pyrenees (province of Huesca, northeastern Spain), has allowed us to recover diminutive fossil bones referable to hadrosaurid dinosaurs. To date, small-sized specimens had not been reported in the area. The remains consist of small vertebrae and fragmentary long bones found in a relatively small area, so it is assumed that they probably belong to individuals of a single population. A morphological examination and a histological study reveal that they represent specimens of advanced ontogenetic stage and allow the identification of an undescribed taxon of small-bodied hadrosaurids. In other parts of Europe, discoveries of small dinosaurs have been linked to insularity. These findings bring to light the smallest hadrosaurid known in Europe to date. |
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