Análisis de la diversidad de terópodos en el Cretácico Superior del suroeste europeo a partir del registro dentario de Lo Hueco en el XXIII Annual Meeting de la EAVP

En el pasado 23rd meeting of the EAVP (European Association Of Vertebrate Palaentologists) celebrado en Vilna (Lituania), se presentó los últimos estudios sobre dientes aislados procedentes del yacimiento de Lo Hueco (Cuenca, España), actualizando los resultados preliminares anteriormente publicados. El registro fósil de dinosaurios terópodos en este yacimiento está representado por escaso material postcraneal aislado, atribuido preliminarmente a abelisáuridos y maniraptores, y a un gran número de dientes aislados, asignados a diferentes clados de Maniraptora. Este trabajo respalda investigaciones anteriores y contribuye a una mejor comprensión de la composición e historia evolutiva de los terópodos europeos al final del Mesozoico.

The paleontological site of "Lo Hueco" (Cuenca, Spain) is one of the most exceptional Upper Cretaceous localities in Europe. It has yielded over 10,000 fossil remains, providing one of the most abundant records of continental vertebrate faunas from the Late Cretaceous of southern Europe. The fossil record of theropod dinosaurs at this site comprises scarce, isolated postcranial elements alongside an extensive sample of isolated teeth. Previously, this material had been tentatively ascribed to abelisaurids and maniraptorans, including dromaeosaurine and velociraptorine eudromaeosaurids, as well as avialans. In this study, a sample of 150 isolated theropod teeth was analyzed using a dual methodological approach. First, a qualitative assessment was conducted through comparative morphological analyses of dental characters. Subsequently, a quantitative approach was applied, incorporating both multivariate and cladistic analyses. The results obtained from these independent methods were highly congruent, allowing for the assignment of this dental material primarily to various dromaeosaurid taxa, cf. Paronychodon, cf. Richardoestesia, and an indeterminate theropod. This faunal composition is consistent with those documented in other Upper Cretaceous localities across the Iberian Peninsula and Europe. These findings corroborate earlier research and contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the composition, diversity, and evolutionary history of European theropod assemblages at the close of the Mesozoic.

Más información:

• Referencia: López-Miguel, M., Torices, A., Ortega, F. 2026. Late Cretaceous theropod diversity in SW Europe: Evidence from the dental record of “Lo Hueco” (Spain). Book of Abstracts of the 23rd Conference of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, 29th June–5th July 2026, Vilnius, Lithuania. Palaeovertebrata, 127.