Riojavenatrix

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Riojavenatrix
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
BarremianAptian
Riojavenatrix.png
Life restoration
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: Spinosauridae
Subfamily: Baryonychinae
Genus: Riojavenatrix
Isasmendi et al., 2024
Type species
Riojavenatrix lacustris
Isasmendi et al., 2024

Riojavenatrix (meaning "La Rioja huntress") is a genus of spinosaurid theropod from the Early Cretaceous Enciso Group of La Rioja, Spain. The type species is Riojavenatrix lacustris. Riojavenatrix represents one of five known spinosaurid taxa from the Iberian Peninsula, the others being Camarillasaurus , Iberospinus , Protathlitis , and Vallibonavenatrix . [1]

Contents

Discovery and naming

Model in La Rioja originally labelled as Baryonyx Modelo de un Baryonyx walkeri, yacimiento La Era del Peladillo, Igea, La Rioja, Espana, 2021-08-31, DD 24.jpg
Model in La Rioja originally labelled as Baryonyx

Fossils of Riojavenatrix were discovered in 2005 at the Virgen del Villar-1 site in La Rioja, Spain. The holotype of Riojavenatrix is a fragmentary dorsal vertebra, pelvic girdle, and hindlimb elements that were initially assigned to Baryonyx . Apparently, all the material belonged to the same individual because it was recovered in association with bones of consistent size and no duplicated elements. [1]

The Virgen del Villar-1 site is a part of the Enciso Group, dated as uppermost Barremian–lower Aptian. The age of this site is likely to be lower Aptian. It makes Riojavenatrix younger than Baryonyx , Camarillasaurus , Ceratosuchops , Iberospinus , Riparovenator , and likely Vallibonavenatrix . Although age estimates for Ichthyovenator and Suchomimus are imprecise, Riojavenatrix lived around the same time as them. Riojavenatrix is older than the more derived mid-Cretaceous African and South American spinosaurids. [1]

It was named as a new genus of spinosaurid theropod in 2024. The generic name, Riojavenatrix, comes from La Rioja province in Spain, plus the Latin venatrix, meaning "huntress". The specific name, "lacustris", is Latin for "from the lake". [1]

Classification

Riojavenatrix was assigned to Spinosauridae based on the features of the pubis and femur, and more precisely to Baryonychinae based on the features of the femur, fibula, and tibia. Its astragalus also bears some similarity to Spinosaurinae. It is one of the youngest baryonychines known, and the fifth spinosaurid found in the Iberian Peninsula. [1]

The following cladograms illustrate the results of the analyzes obtained by the authors of the Riojavenatrix description using different data sets. The first tree shows several alternative positions. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Baryonyx</i> Genus of theropod dinosaurs

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.

<i>Suchomimus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Suchomimus is a species of spinosaur dinosaur that lived between 125 and 112 million years ago in what is now Niger, north Africa, during the Aptian to early Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous period. It was named and described by paleontologist Paul Sereno and colleagues in 1998, based on a partial skeleton from the Elrhaz Formation. Suchomimus's long and shallow skull, similar to that of a crocodile, earns it its generic name, while the specific name Suchomimus tenerensis alludes to the locality of its first remains, the Ténéré Dese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinosauridae</span> Family of dinosaurs

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.

<i>Siamosaurus</i> Potentially dubious genus of spinosaurid theropod dinosaur

Siamosaurus is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now known as China and Thailand during the Early Cretaceous period and is the first reported spinosaurid from Asia. It is confidently known only from tooth fossils; the first were found in the Sao Khua Formation, with more teeth later recovered from the younger Khok Kruat Formation. The only species Siamosaurus suteethorni, whose name honours Thai palaeontologist Varavudh Suteethorn, was formally described in 1986. In 2009, four teeth from China previously attributed to a pliosaur—under the species "Sinopliosaurus" fusuiensis—were identified as those of a spinosaurid, possibly Siamosaurus. It is yet to be determined if two partial spinosaurid skeletons from Thailand and an isolated tooth from Japan also belong to Siamosaurus.

<i>Suchosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Suchosaurus is a spinosaurid dinosaur from Cretaceous England and Portugal, originally believed to be a genus of crocodile. The type material, consisting of teeth, was used by British palaeontologist Richard Owen to name the species S. cultridens in 1841. Later in 1897, French palaeontologist Henri-Émile Sauvage named a second species, S. girardi, based on two fragments from the mandible and one tooth discovered in Portugal. Suchosaurus is possibly a senior synonym of the contemporary spinosaurid Baryonyx, but is usually considered a dubious name due to the paucity of its remains, and is considered an indeterminate baryonychine. In the Wadhurst Clay Formation of what is now southern England, Suchosaurus lived alongside other dinosaurs, as well as plesiosaurs, mammals, and crocodyliforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urbión Group</span>

The Urbión Group is a geological group in Castile and León and La Rioja, Spain whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous (late Hauterivian to late Barremian. The formations of the group comprise a sequence of brown limestones in a matrix of black silt, sandstones, claystones and conglomerates deposited under terrestrial conditions, in alluvial fan and fluvial environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enciso Group</span> Spanish geological formation

The Enciso Group is a geological formation in La Rioja, Spain whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous.

The Arcillas de Morella Formation is a geological formation in Spain whose strata date back to the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

The Papo Seco Formation is a geological formation in Portugal, whose strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur fossils are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

<i>Demandasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Demandasaurus is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur from early Cretaceous deposits of Spain. Demandasaurus is known from an incomplete but associated skeleton that includes cranial and postcranial remains. It was collected from the Castrillo de la Reina Formation in Burgos Province of Spain. It was first named by Fidel Torcida Fernández-Baldor, José Ignacio Canudo, Pedro Huerta, Diego Montero, Xabier Pereda Suberbiola and Leonardo Salgado in 2011 and the type species is Demandasaurus darwini.

<i>Ichthyovenator</i> Genus of dinosaur

Ichthyovenator is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now Laos, sometime between 125 and 113 million years ago, during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous period. It is known from fossils collected from the Grès supérieurs Formation of the Savannakhet Basin, the first of which were found in 2010, consisting of a partial skeleton without the skull or limbs. This specimen became the holotype of the new genus and species Ichthyovenator laosensis, and was described by palaeontologist Ronan Allain and colleagues in 2012. The generic name, meaning "fish hunter", refers to its assumed piscivorous lifestyle, while the specific name alludes to the country of Laos. In 2014, it was announced that more remains from the dig site had been recovered; these fossils included teeth, more vertebrae (backbones) and a pubic bone from the same individual.

<i>Ostafrikasaurus</i> Genus of theropod dinosaur

Ostafrikasaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period of what is now Lindi Region, Tanzania. It is known only from fossil teeth discovered sometime between 1909 and 1912, during an expedition to the Tendaguru Formation by the Natural History Museum of Berlin. Eight teeth were originally attributed to the dubious dinosaur genus Labrosaurus, and later to Ceratosaurus, both known from the North American Morrison Formation. Subsequent studies attributed two of these teeth to a spinosaurid dinosaur, and in 2012, Ostafrikasaurus crassiserratus was named by French palaeontologist Eric Buffetaut, with one tooth as the holotype, and the other referred to the same species. The generic name comes from the German word for German East Africa, the former name of the colony in which the fossils were found, while the specific name comes from the Latin words for "thick" and "serrated", in reference to the form of the animal's teeth.

<i>Camarillasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

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 five spinosaurid taxa known from the Iberian peninsula, the others being Iberospinus, Protathlitis, Riojavenatrix, and Vallibonavenatrix.

<i>Vallibonavenatrix</i> Genus of spinosaurid theropod dinosaur

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.

<i>Ceratosuchops</i> Genus of baryonychine spinosaur from the Early Cretaceous

Ceratosuchops is a genus of spinosaurid from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baryonychinae</span> Subfamily of dinosaurs (fossil)

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.

<i>Iberospinus</i> Extinct genus of spinosaurid dinosaur

IberospinusIPA:[aɪbiːʌroʊs̠piːnʊs̠] or IPA:[aɪbiːʌroʊs̠paɪnʌs̠] is an extinct genus of spinosaurid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Papo Seco Formation of Portugal. The genus contains a single species, I. natarioi, known from several assorted bones belonging to one individual. Iberospinus represents one of five known spinosaurid taxa from the Iberian Peninsula, the others being Camarillasaurus, Protathlitis, Riojavenatrix, and Vallibonavenatrix. It is important for its implications of the geographical origin of Spinosauridae and the suggested presence of an at least semi-aquatic lifestyle early in the evolution of this clade.

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.

<i>Garumbatitan</i> Genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaurs

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Isasmendi, E.; Cuesta, E.; Díaz-Martínez, I.; Company, J.; Sáez-Benito, P.; Viera, L. I.; Torices, A.; Pereda-Suberbiola, P. (2024). "Increasing the theropod record of Europe: a new basal spinosaurid from the Enciso Group of the Cameros Basin (La Rioja, Spain). Evolutionary implications and palaeobiodiversity". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad193.
  2. Rauhut, O. W.; Pol, D. (2021). "New theropod remains from the Late Jurassic Cañadón Calcáreo formation of Chubut, Argentina". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 111: Article 103434. Bibcode:2021JSAES.11103434R. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2021.103434.
  3. Mateus, O.; Estraviz-López, D. (2022). "A new theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) of Cabo Espichel, Portugal: Implications for spinosaurid evolution". PLOS ONE. 17 (2): e0262614. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1762614M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262614 . PMC   8849621 . PMID   35171930.