Arcillas de Morella Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: | |
Type | Geological formation |
Underlies | Xert Formation |
Overlies | Artoles Formation |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone, clay |
Other | Marl, limestone, siltstone, conglomerate |
Location | |
Region | Europe |
Country | Spain |
Type section | |
Named for | Morella, Castellón |
Named by | Canérot et al. |
Year defined | 1982 |
The Arcillas de Morella Formation is a geological formation in Spain whose strata date back to the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. [1] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. [2]
The formation was formally named and defined by Canérot and colleagues in 1982. [3] The formation predominantly consists of red clays and continental sandstones, with some marine intercalations. [4]
Dinosaurs of the Arcillas de Morella Formation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Notes | Images |
Hypsilophodon [2] | |||
Iguanodon | I. bernissartensis [5] | An iguanodonian dinosaur | |
Mantellisaurus | M. cf. atherfieldensis [5] | An iguanodontian dinosaur | |
Morelladon | Morelladon beltrani [6] | An iguanodontian dinosaur | |
Baryonychinae [2] | Indeterminate remains [2] | ||
cf. Carcharodontosauridae | Indeterminate remains [7] | An anterior caudal centrum belonging to an immature individual | |
Garumbatitan | G. morellensis | A somphospondylan sauropod [8] | |
Protathlitis | P. cinctorrensis [9] | A spinosaurid theropod | |
Titanosauriformes | Indeterminate | At least two distinct taxa, including a somphospondylan [10] | |
Vallibonavenatrix | V. cani [4] | A spinosaurid theropod | |
Turtles of the Arcillas de Morella Formation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Species | Notes | Images |
Brodiechelys | B. royoi [11] | A xinjiangchelyid turtle | |
Eodortoka | E. morellana [12] | A dortokid turtle |
Plesiosaurs of the Arcillas de Morella Formation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Taxa | Presence | Notes | Images | |
Leptocleididae [13] |
Baryonyx is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, about 130–125 million years ago. The first skeleton was discovered in 1983 in the Smokejack Clay Pit, of Surrey, England, in sediments of the Weald Clay Formation, and became the holotype specimen of Baryonyx walkeri, named by palaeontologists Alan J. Charig and Angela C. Milner in 1986. The generic name, Baryonyx, means "heavy claw" and alludes to the animal's very large claw on the first finger; the specific name, walkeri, refers to its discoverer, amateur fossil collector William J. Walker. The holotype specimen is one of the most complete theropod skeletons from the UK, and its discovery attracted media attention. Specimens later discovered in other parts of the United Kingdom and Iberia have also been assigned to the genus, though many have since been moved to new genera.
Spinosauridae is a clade or family of tetanuran theropod dinosaurs comprising ten to seventeen known genera. Spinosaurid fossils have been recovered worldwide, including Africa, Europe, South America and Asia. Their remains have generally been attributed to the Early to Mid Cretaceous.
Mantellisaurus is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur that lived in the Barremian and early Aptian ages of the Early Cretaceous Period of Europe. Its remains are known from Belgium (Bernissart), England, Spain and Germany. The type and only species is M. atherfieldensis. Formerly known as Iguanodon atherfieldensis, the new genus Mantellisaurus was erected for the species by Gregory Paul in 2007. According to Paul, Mantellisaurus was more lightly built than Iguanodon and more closely related to Ouranosaurus, making Iguanodon in its traditional sense paraphyletic. It is known from many complete and almost complete skeletons. The genus name honours Gideon Mantell, the discoverer of Iguanodon.
The Lourinhã Formation is a fossil rich geological formation in western Portugal, named for the municipality of Lourinhã. The formation is mostly Late Jurassic in age (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian), with the top of the formation extending into the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian). It is notable for containing a fauna especially similar to that of the Morrison Formation in the United States and a lesser extent to the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. There are also similarities to the nearby Villar del Arzobispo Formation and Alcobaça Formation. The stratigraphy of the formation and the basin in general is complex and controversial, with the constituent member beds belonging to the formation varying between different authors.
The Alcobaça Formation, previously known as the Guimarota Formation and also known as the Consolação Unit, is a geological formation in Portugal. It dates back to the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic. It is an important source of information on the diversity of Late Jurassic mammals. Many of the fossils were collected from the now disused and flooded Camadas de Guimarota coal mine.
The La Huérguina Formation is a geological formation in Spain whose strata date back to the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Las Hoyas is a Konservat-Lagerstätte within the formation, located near the city of Cuenca, Spain. The site is mostly known for its exquisitely preserved dinosaurs, especially enantiornithines. The lithology of the formation mostly consists of lacustrine limestone deposited in a freshwater wetland environment.
The Villalba de la Sierra Formation is a Campanian to Maastrichtian geologic formation in Spain. Fossil dinosaur eggs have been reported from the formation, that comprises gypsiferous, grey, argillaceous mudstones and sandstones, deposited in a floodplain environment characterised by high seasonality and variability in water availability.
Camarillasaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period (Barremian) of Camarillas, Teruel Province, in what is now northeastern Spain. Described in 2014, it was originally identified as a ceratosaurian theropod, but later studies suggested affinities to the Spinosauridae. If it does represent a spinosaur, Camarillasaurus would be one of several spinosaurid taxa known from the Iberian peninsula, the others being Iberospinus, Protathlitis, ‘’Baryonyx’’, Riojavenatrix, and Vallibonavenatrix.
Eousdryosaurus is a genus of basal iguanodontian dinosaur known from a partial skeleton discovered in Upper Jurassic rocks in western Portugal. The type, and only species, is Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis, named and described in 2014.
Morelladon is an extinct genus of herbivorous styracosternan ornithopod dinosaur. It lived during the Early Cretaceous of Spain, around 130 million years ago.
Lirainosaurinae is a subfamily of lithostrotian titanosaur sauropods from the Late Cretaceous of France, Spain, and Romania.
Vallibonavenatrix is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Arcillas de Morella Formation of Castellón, Spain. The type and only species is Vallibonavenatrix cani, known from a partial skeleton.
The Castrillo de la Reina Formation is a geological formation in Spain. It is late Barremian to early Aptian in age. It interpreted as a fluvial deposit. It primarily consists of red clay, with ribbon shaped sandstone channel fills. The rebbachisaurid dinosaur Demandasaurus occurs in the formation, alongside somphospondylan Europatitan as well as indeterminate small ornithopods, iguanodonts and spinosaurids, the earliest known stem-rhabdodontid (indeterminate) and the lizard Arcanosaurus.
Dortokidae is an extinct family of freshwater pan-pleurodiran turtles, known from the Cretaceous and Paleocene of Europe. Only four species have been named, but indeterminate fossils show that they were abundant across western and eastern-central Europe during the Cretaceous. The family is only known from postcranial remains.
Portellsaurus is a genus of hadrosauroid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Margas de Mirambell Formation of Spain. The genus contains a single species, Portellsaurus sosbaynati, known from a partial right dentary.
Baryonychinae is an extinct clade or subfamily of spinosaurids from the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian-Albian) of Britain, Portugal, and Niger. The clade was named by Charig & Milner in 1986 and defined by Sereno et al. in 1998 and Holtz et al. in 2004 as all taxa more closely related to Baryonyx walkeri than to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.
Protathlitis is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Arcillas de Morella Formation of Castellón, Spain. The type and only species is Protathlitis cinctorrensis, known from a partial skeleton. It was a basal member of the Baryonychinae. Its discovery, as well as those of the spinosaurids Camarillasaurus, Iberospinus, Riojavenatrix, and the contemporary Vallibonavenatrix shows that the Iberian Peninsula held a diverse assemblage of spinosaurids during the Early Cretaceous.
Garumbatitan is an extinct genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous Arcillas de Morella Formation of Spain. The genus contains a single species, G. morellensis, known from multiple partial skeletons.