Paleontologists from the Teruel-Dinópolis Joint Paleontological Foundation have described fossils of a sauropod dinosaur from the La Tejería site in the municipality of El Castellar (Teruel, Spain). The results of their research, recently published in the prestigious scientific journal Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, have identified these remains as belonging to the genus Diplodocus; a dinosaur that, until now, had only been recognized in the Jurassic of North America.
Sauropods, popularly known as "long-necks," are one of the most characteristic groups of dinosaurs. Generally, they were herbivorous, quadrupedal animals, with long tails and necks, and a relatively small head in relation to the total length of their body. Within this group, diplodocids stand out mainly for their extremely long tails. The specimen studied from El Castellar comes from sediments dating back to the end of the Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, and is represented by fourteen vertebrae, belonging to the middle and posterior region of the tail, and by several chevrons - bones that articulate with the underside of the vertebrae. Its study has identified it as belonging to the genus Diplodocus, classified as Diplodocus sp.
The tail of Diplodocus presents a set of distinctive anatomical features including large pneumatic cavities in the vertebrae, elongated vertebral centra without lateral crests, deep longitudinal grooves on the underside of the vertebrae, and bifurcated chevrons.
Diplodocus is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs in popular culture since its discovery in the United States in 1878. Therefore, and since the early 20th century, replicas of its skeleton have been exhibited in the main natural history museums worldwide, becoming a symbol of global paleontology. Its presence in dinosaur exhibitions and audiovisual productions has helped make it one of the most well-known "terrible lizards" by the general public.
Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa, researcher at the Dinópolis Foundation and lead author of the article, explains that "the anatomical study and evolutionary analyses carried out have allowed us to identify the specimen from El Castellar as belonging to the genus Diplodocus. It is one of the most complete diplodocids discovered to date in Europe and represents the first evidence of this genus outside of North America. This discovery provides one of the most solid paleontological pieces of evidence of episodes of faunal dispersal and exchange between both continents through the proto-Atlantic Ocean during the Late Jurassic. Additionally, this finding allows us to better understand the Mesozoic ecosystems in the Iberian Peninsula and the diversity of sauropod dinosaurs that inhabited Jurassic Europe."
Alberto Cobos, director-manager of the Dinópolis Foundation and co-author of this article, highlights that "the Diplodocus from El Castellar was approximately 25 meters long, making it another of the giant sauropods of the Jurassic in Spain, alongside other sauropod dinosaurs from Teruel with very different characteristics from diplodocids, such as Turiasaurus and Losillasaurus, among others. The fossils of all these dinosaurs, including those of the new Diplodocus that make Teruel a reference for understanding this great diversity, are currently exhibited in the dinosaur hall of the Aragonese Museum of Paleontology in Dinópolis in Teruel."