Overview
- Fundación Dinópolis excavators recovered 14 well‑preserved tail vertebrae and several chevrons at La Tejería in El Castellar, Teruel, and the material is now on public display at the Museo Aragonés de Paleontología at Dinópolis.
- Detailed anatomy and multiple phylogenetic tests led researchers to place the Spanish specimen inside the genus Diplodocus and close to Diplodocus hallorum based on features such as large pneumatic cavities, deep tail grooves, and forked chevrons.
- The bones date to about 150 million years ago near the end of the Jurassic and represent an animal estimated at roughly 25 meters (82 feet) long, similar in size to North American Diplodocus specimens.
- The team published their peer‑reviewed Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology paper Tuesday reporting that the find offers strong fossil evidence that large sauropods crossed the proto‑North Atlantic on temporary land bridges during sea‑level lowstands.
- Researchers say more complete skeletons are needed to determine whether the Spanish individual is the same species as North American Diplodocus or a distinct European species, and the displayed fossils will remain available for further study.