Paleontologists from the Teruel-Dinopolis United Paleontological Foundation have published their new discovery in a scientific journal. vertebrate zoology It describes an unusual stegosaur skull discovered in Rio deba (Teruel, Spain). The fossil, which belongs to a plated dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago, is also helping researchers propose a new explanation for how stegosaurs evolved and spread around the world.
Stegosaurus was a four-legged, plant-eating dinosaur best known for its row of plates and spikes that ran from its neck to its tail. The newly studied fossils were discovered during excavations led by the Dinopolis Foundation at the Estan de Colon site in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, which dates back to the Late Jurassic period.
Researchers identified the specimen as Weapon of Dakentrulusone of Europe’s most iconic sword dragons. The fossil is believed to be the best-preserved stegosaur skull ever discovered in Europe, a remarkable achievement since dinosaur skulls are extremely delicate and rarely remain intact for millions of years.
“The detailed study of this exceptional fossil has allowed us to uncover previously unknown anatomical aspects of the fossil,” said Sérgio Sánchez Fenollosa, a researcher at the Dinopolis Foundation and co-author of the study. Weapon of Dakentrulusa typical European sword dragon, will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its first description in 2025. Very little dinosaur skulls have been preserved because the bones were very fragile. This discovery is key to understanding how stegosaur skulls evolved.
“Furthermore, in parallel with our anatomical studies, we also proposed a new hypothesis that redefines the evolutionary relationships of stegosaurs around the world. As a result of this research, we have formally decided on the definition of a new group called neostegosaurs.”
New dinosaur evolution hypothesis
Researchers say neostegosaurs include medium- and large-sized stegosaur species that lived on multiple continents at various times during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods. Research shows that members of this group lived in present-day Africa and Europe during the Middle and Late Jurassic, in North America during the Late Jurassic, and in Asia during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.
The research team believes this new classification could change the way scientists understand the evolutionary history and global distribution of plated dinosaurs.
Fossil ruins that are still producing important discoveries
Alberto Cobos, managing director of the Dinopolis Foundation and co-author of the study, emphasized the far-reaching importance of this discovery, saying, “This dual achievement of studying an exceptional fossil and proposing a new evolutionary hypothesis positions this study as a global reference in stegosaur research.”
“This fossil site in Rio deba continues to be the subject of research, and a number of related fossils have been discovered, including more epicranial elements from the same adult specimen, as well as juvenile individuals, a particularly unusual combination for this type of dinosaur. These discoveries continue to exponentially increase the paleontological heritage of Teruel province, making it one of the iconic regions for understanding the evolution of life on Earth.”
Scientists say the Rio deba fossil site continues to yield valuable material, including additional bones of the same adult dinosaurs and rare juvenile fossils. Discoveries like these have helped establish Teruel as one of the world’s most important locations for studying prehistoric life and the evolution of dinosaurs.
Research publication year vertebrate zoology
This study vertebrate zoology The title is “New insights into the phylogeny and skull evolution of Stegosaurus dinosaurs: An unusual skull from the Late Jurassic of Europe (Dinosaur: Stegosaurus)”. The paper was written by paleontologists Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa and Alberto Cobos from the Dinopolis Foundation.
This project was supported by the Dinopolis Foundation. Department of Environment and Tourism of the Government of Aragon. This is also part of the activities of the research group E04-23R FOCONTUR, which is funded by the Government of Aragon through the Department of Employment, Science and Universities.
Additional support was provided by the Teruel Paleontology Unit, which received funding from the Spanish Government through the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Excavation work on site also received support through the project. Paleontological remains of Teruel province as a factor of territorial development (IV)jointly financed by the Governments of Spain and Aragon through the Teruel Investment Fund through the Presidential Ministry of Economic Affairs and Justice.
