Iberospinus
Sign in to saveIberospinus (meaning "Iberian spine") 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 potentially semi-aquatic lifestyle earlier in the e
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Discovery and naming
- Description
- Classification
- Paleobiology
- Palaeoenvironment
- References
Iberospinus (meaning "Iberian spine") 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 potentially semi-aquatic lifestyle earlier in the evolution of this clade.
== Discovery and naming == thumb|Life reconstruction of Iberospinus showing a 3D digitalization of some of the recovered bones, as well as reconstructed musculature|left The first fossil material was discovered in 1999, with additional expeditions from 2004 to 2008. After being described as a specimen of Baryonyx in 2011, it was realised to have been a unique species in 2019, with specimen ML1190 as the holotype. Additional material was discovered in a June 2020 expedition, after which Iberospinus was described as a new genus and species in 2022 by Octávio Mateus and Darío Estraviz-López.