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Paleontologists have actually recuperated the dinosaur skull product from beds of the Upper Jurassic Villar del Arzobispo Formation in Teruel, Spain, and with confidence appointed it to a stegosaurian types called Dacentrurus armatus
The skull of Dacentrurus armatus from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation in Teruel, Spain. Image credit: S. Sánchez-Fenollosa & A. Cobos, doi: 10.3897/ vz.75. e146618.
The name Stegosauria was very first proposed in 1877 and the very first stegosaur, Dacentrurus armatuswas explained 2 years previously.
Stegosauria is a little clade of thyreophoran dinosaurs that consists of some renowned and identifiable members, such as the genus Stegosaurus
They were quadrupedal herbivores generally identified by 2 rows of osteoderms(plates and spinal columns) that extend from the neck to the tail end.
The stegosaurs are understood from, a minimum of, the Middle Jurassic to potentially the Late Cretaceous in sediments from nearly around the world, however primarily represented by single partial skeletons.
The stegosaurian skull product is incredibly fragmentary and limited in the fossil record.
Almost half of the existing clinically acknowledged types of stegosaurs do not protect skull product.
In a brand-new research study, Fundación Dinópolis paleontologists Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa and Alberto Cobos analyzed the skull of Dacentrurus armatusa types of stegosaurian dinosaur that lived around 150 million years earlier in Europe.
Life restoration of Dacentrurus armatusImage credit: Sci.News.
“The in-depth research study of this remarkable fossil enabled us to expose formerly unidentified elements of the anatomy of Dacentrurus armatusthe ultimate European stegosaur, “Dr. Sánchez Fenollosa stated.
” Dinosaurian skulls are seldom maintained due to the severe fragility of their bones. “
” This discovery is essential to comprehending how stegosaurian skulls progressed.”
“Furthermore, together with the physiological research study, we likewise proposed a brand-new hypothesis that redefines the evolutionary relationships of stegosaurs worldwide.”
“As an outcome of this work, we have actually formalized the meaning of a brand-new group called Neostegosauria.”
According to the scientists, Neostegosauria consists of medium to large-sized stegosaurian types that resided in what is now Africa and Europe throughout the Middle and Late Jurassic, in North America throughout the Late Jurassic, and in Asia throughout the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.
“This double accomplishment– both the research study of a remarkable fossil and the proposition of a brand-new evolutionary hypothesis– positions this research study as an international recommendation in stegosaurian research studies,” Dr. Cobos stated.
“This fossil website from Riodeva continues to be a topic of research study and still holds various pertinent fossils, consisting of more postcranial aspects from the very same adult specimen and, significantly, juvenile people, an especially uncommon mix in this kind of dinosaurs.”
“These discoveries continue to tremendously increase the palaeontological heritage of the province of Teruel, making it among the renowned areas for comprehending the advancement of life in the world.”
The group’s paper was released on May 26, 2025 in the journal Vertebrate Zoology
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S. Sánchez-Fenollosa & & A. Cobos. 2025. New insights into the phylogeny and skull development of stegosaurian dinosaurs: An amazing cranium from the European Late Jurassic (Dinosauria: Stegosauria). Vertebrate Zoology 75: 165-189; doi: 10.3897/ vz.75. e146618
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