Estudio y comparación del esqueleto axial de un saurópodo (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) procedente de la Formación Villar del Arzobispo (Titónico-Berriasiense) de Galve, Teruel

Abstract

Study and comparison of the axial squeleton of a sauropod (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) from Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian-Berriasian) of Galve, Teruel

The great vertebrate fossil record, Tithonian-Barremian in age, found in the outcrops of Galve (Teruel, Spain), has been recently increased with the discovery of sauropod remains in Cuesta Lonsal locality. The dorsal vertebral record of this sauropod is described in this paper. It was found in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, which means the transition between the Upper Jurassic shallow marine environments to the continental environments of the Lower Cretaceous in this area of the Iberian Range. Plesiomorphic characters are present in the studied material together with derived and eight autapomorphic characters. Comparison with most representative sauropod genera of all the clades, especially Losillasaurus giganteus, from the same Formation, and a cladistic analysis, allows the conclusion that the studied material belongs to a basal neosauropod not described yet, and different than Macronaria and Diplodocidae+Dicraeosauridae. Cladistic analysis also shows a politomy in Neosauropoda node, in which the Cuesta Lonsal sauropod is included.

In the future a complete study of all the material of this sauropod will provide new data to the neosauropod origin and evolutive radiation that affected them.