Uma equipe internacional paleontólogos do Instituto Dom Luiz da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, do Grupo de Biología Evolutiva da UNED, do Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, da Universidad Complutense de Madrid, entre outras instituições, apresentam no XII Congresso Nacional de Geologia, realizado no final de junho, em Évora, as mais recentes descobertas sobre os fósseis do Jurássico Superior de Pombal.
O paleontologo Pedro Mocho liderou um estudo sobre um dinossáurio saurópode de grande tamanho coletado na jazida da Junqueira em Santiago de Litém (Pombal). No trabalho intitulado “Sauropod presacral vertebrae from the Upper Jurassic deposits of Junqueira (Pombal, Portugal)”, Pedro Mocho e colaboradores descrevem, comparam e analisam vários restos fósseis encontrados nesta localidade, em particular, um conjunto des restos de vértebras dorsais. Neste estudo confirma-se a sua atribuição ao grupo dos braquiossaurídeos, e comparam de forma detalhada com outros membros des grupos, como Lusotitan atalaiensis, Giraffatitan brancai, Vouvria dampariensis e Brachiosaurus altithorax. O indivíduo da Junqueira correspondende a um dos maiores exemplares deste grupo encontrados na Europa. O resumo desta apresentação encontra-se abaixo:
The Iberian Peninsula has a relatively rich dinosaur record, especially in the Kimmeridgian–Tithonian deposits of the Lusitanian Basin, where sauropods with brachiosaurid affinities occur. However, European Upper Jurassic brachiosaurids remain poorly known due to scarce diagnostic fossils. To date, only four taxa have been formally recognized. Notably, the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Pombal region have proven especially productive, yielding several large-bodied individuals preliminarily assigned to Titanosauriformes. These include specimens from the Junqueira, Monte Agudo, and Mouriscas fossil sites. At Junqueira, a large sauropod was recovered from the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Bombarral Formation. The site excavated in 2015 during two paleontological expeditions yielded multiple axial and appendicular elements, including dorsal and caudal vertebrae, ribs, and portions of the pelvic girdle. Herein, we describe the presacral vertebrae of Junqueira sauropod. Dorsal vertebrae in sauropods provide key anatomical information for detailed systematic assessments, due to their structural complexity. The Junqueira specimens represent a single individual, being assigned to Titanosauriformes based on the presence of camellate internal bone and posterior acute pneumatic foramen. They also display a combination of features supporting their attribution to Brachiosauridae, including a divided spinopostzygapophyseal lamina (SPOL) in the middle and posterior dorsal vertebrae, strongly dorsoventrally compressed dorsal centra, and slightly opisthocoelous posterior dorsal centra. Additional diagnostic traits include well- developed hypantrum facets (ventrally connected by a thin lamina on both sides, like Giraffatitan brancai), prominent centroprezygapophyseal facets, and a ventrally displaced contact between the spinodiapophyseal lamina (SPDL) and SPOL that does not reach the triangular aliform process. This specimen provides valuable insights into the morphology of the Late Jurassic brachiosaurids from Portugal, exhibiting characteristics consistent with Lusotitan atalaiensis, taxon otherwise known from considerably more fragmentary dorsal material.
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