The new species of herbivorous dinosaur has been discovered in Castellón. Its name, Portellsaurus sosbaynati and it roamed the Earth 130 million years ago.
Their discovery was made possible thanks to the analysis of a fossilized jaw that revealed the disturbing details of this strange creature almost 8 meters long , with a deadly spike protruding from the tip of its thumb and five ‘razor-sharp fingers’.
According to experts, this stiletto-like weapon of the dinosaur would not have been useful only to fight predators, but also to cut fruit , since it is a herbivorous dinosaur.
Portellsaurus sosbaynati was a member of a specialized group of iguanodons called estiracosternos that roamed an area that is now Spain. The dinosaur also had large nostrils, which gave it an excellent sense of smell, which combined with its powerful claws would have made it an excellent forager.
It also had a long, heavy tail that would have been kept in the air for balance, as the creature was 10 feet tall and weighed over four tons.
The new species was identified from a jaw unearthed in a prehistoric animal cemetery in Portell, Catalonia. The beast is a cousin of herbivorous dinosaurs whose remains have been found in modern-day China and Niger.
“ Portellsaurus sosbaynati is the oldest known dinosaur species in the province of Castellón, around 130 million years old. E t is closely related to the Chinese dinosaur Bolong and African dinosaur Ouranosaurus “says Andrés Santos-Cubedo, co – author of the study published in the journal Plos One.” Indicates that the Iberian Peninsula was home to a diverse set of hadrosauriformes styracosternan of medium to large body during the Lower Cretaceous ”.
Referencia: A new styracosternan hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Early Cretaceous of Portell, Spain Andrés Santos-Cubedo , Carlos de Santisteban, Begoña Poza, Sergi Meseguer Published: July 7, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253599
