Nuevos hallazgos de dinosaurios saurópodos en Algora (Guadalajara) en las XXXVII Jornadas de la SEP

En las pasadas XXXVII Jornadas de Paleontología de la SEP en Cuenca se presentó una comunicación en formato póster sobre los dinosaurios saurópodos del yacimiento cenomaniense de Algora (Guadalajara). En esta comunicación titulada "New discoveries in Algora (Spain) shed light on the evolutionary history of European sauropods during the Cenomanian" se han presentado los nuevos restos de saurópodos encontrados en la campaña  más reciente de trabajos paleontológicos, incluyendo varios ejemplares del esqueleto axial apendicular de al menos dos individuos. El resumen es el siguiente:

The European Cenomanian sauropod fossil record is scarce, and the evolutionary history of this group during the Late Cretaceous is still poorly understood for the continent. The Cenomanian is a key period to comprehend the extinction of some sauropod lineages commonly present during the Early Cretaceous (e.g., laurasiforms), and the establishment of the lattermost Late Cretaceous sauropod fauna in Europe, dominated by lithostrotian titanosaurs. The recent discovery of the Cenomanian Algora fossil-site, in central Spain, provides new data about this Cenomanian sauropod diversity. The sample of Algora is the richest sauropod fossil accumulation from the Cenomanian of Europe. Previous cladistic analyses placed the Algora sauropod within Lithostrotia, in a more derived position than Malawisaurus (Aptian, Malawi), in a subclade that includes Rapetosaurus (Maastrichtian, Madagascar) and an indeterminate titanosaur from Italy (late Aptian–early Albian). New palaeontological expeditions in this fossil-site revealed several new specimens and a more complex taxonomic scenario than previously documented. These new remains allow recognizing the presence of more than two individuals in the main accumulation, including more caudal vertebrae and new appendicular material (i.e., scapula, ischium, pubis, and femur); and they can be attributable to a single small-sized taxon. It is characterized by a unique combination of features in the caudal vertebrae, not compatible with any taxon so far described. This taxon, together with the Italian form, shows affinities with Gondwanan titanosaurs, indicating the presence of pre-late Aptian faunal contact between European and African sauropod faunas possibly through the Adriatic plate during the Early Cretaceous. In addition, new remains have been found in other locations and levels nearby the main site, among which stands out a complete cervical vertebrae of a medium-to-big size individual. The Cenomanian osteological and ichnological record reveals that the mid-Cretaceous sauropod fauna in Europe is mainly composed by lithostrotian titanosaurs and, possibly, brachiosaurids.

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Más información:

• Referencia: Mocho, P., Pérez-García, A., Ortega, F. 2022. New discoveries in Algora (Spain) shed light on the evolutionary history of European sauropods during the Cenomanian. In: Blanco et al. (Eds.), Libro de Resúmenes de las XXXVII Jornadas SEP y V Congreso Ibérico de Paleontologia. Palaeontological publications 2, 118. 

Carófitas del yacimiento de Poyos (Guadalajara) en las XXXVII Jornadas de la SEP

En las pasadas XXXVII Jornadas de Paleontología de la SEP celebradas en Cuenca se presentó una comunicación oral sobre las algas carófitas fósiles del yacimiento de Poyos en un trabajo liderado por el paleontólogo Josep Sanjuan y con el título de "Charophyte flora from the Late Cretaceous Poyos fossil-site, Iberian Ranges (Guadalajara, Spain)". En este trabajo se ha mostrado importante información sobre la datación y los ambientes de deposición de los depósitos cretácicos de la localidad de Poyos en Guadalajara.

The fossil site of Poyos (Guadalajara) is located in the Southwestern Domain of the Iberian Ranges on the red clayey beds of the Late Cretaceous Villalba de la Sierra Fm. The site had yielded a big variety of macrofossils of vertebrates, among which is particularly conspicuous the presence of dinosaur eggshell fragments, complete eggs and clutches. A diverse fossil charophyte assemblage (aquatic plants) from Poyos is here described and illustrated for the first time. Preliminary results indicate that the assemblage is composed of up to seven species with palaeoecological and biostratigraphical interest. The flora is dominated by the porocharacean Feistiella malladae which occurs associated to Sphaerochara cf. macrocarpa, Bysmochara conquensis, Lychnothamnus begudianus, Peckichara cristatella, Platychara cf. caudata and Platychara cf. turbinata. The here-studied charophyte assemblage brings new light about the palaeoecological conditions and relative age of the studied deposits. The set of charophytes in the site is characteristic of continental environments, however the dominance of F. malladae would indicate the prevalence of brackish-water conditions. Biostratigraphically, the charophyte assemblage from the fossil site of Poyos indicates a possible age of late Campanian-early Maastrichtian.

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Más información: 

• Referencia: Sanjuan, J., de Celis, A., de la Horra, R., Mocho, P., Sanguino, F., Ortega, F. (2022). Charophyte flora from the Late Cretaceous Poyos fossil-site, Iberian Ranges (Guadalajara, Spain), In: Blanco et al. (Eds.), Libro de Resúmenes de las XXXVII Jornadas SEP y V Congreso Ibérico de Paleontologia. Palaeontological publications 2, 175.