The basal nodosaurid ankylosaur Europelta carbonensis n. gen., n. sp. from the Lower Cretaceous (lower Albian) Escucha Formation of northeastern Spain

Nodosaurids are poorly known from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe. Two associated ankylosaur skeletons excavated from the lower Albian carbonaceous member of the Escucha Formation near Ariño in northeastern Teruel, Spain reveal nearly all the diagnostic recognized character that define nodosaurid ank...

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Published inPloS one Vol. 8; no. 12; p. e80405
Main Authors Kirkland, James I, Alcalá, Luis, Loewen, Mark A, Espílez, Eduardo, Mampel, Luis, Wiersma, Jelle P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Public Library of Science 02.12.2013
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects
Animals
Ankylosaurs
Character recognition
Coal mining
Comparative analysis
Cretaceous
Cretaceous period
Diagnostic systems
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs - anatomy & histology
Dinosaurs - classification
Diversification
Fossils
Geology
Geophysics
Museums
Natural history
New genera
New species
Paleontology
Spain
Stratigraphy
Taxa
Spain
England
Iberian Peninsula
United States > US
Europe
Utah
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Summary:Nodosaurids are poorly known from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe. Two associated ankylosaur skeletons excavated from the lower Albian carbonaceous member of the Escucha Formation near Ariño in northeastern Teruel, Spain reveal nearly all the diagnostic recognized character that define nodosaurid ankylosaurs. These new specimens comprise a new genus and species of nodosaurid ankylosaur and represent the single most complete taxon of ankylosaur from the Cretaceous of Europe. These two specimens were examined and compared to all other known ankylosaurs. Comparisons of these specimens document that Europelta carbonensis n. gen., n. sp. is a nodosaur and is the sister taxon to the Late Cretaceous nodosaurids Anoplosaurus, Hungarosaurus, and Struthiosaurus, defining a monophyletic clade of European nodosaurids- the Struthiosaurinae.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Conceived and designed the experiments: JIK LA MAL. Performed the experiments: JIK MAL. Analyzed the data: JIK LA MAL. Wrote the paper: JIK LA MAL. Oversaw the entire Ariño project: LA. Co-directed the excavation: EE LM. Oversaw the preparation of all the fossil materials: EE. Assisted with character evaluations and in constructing many of the figures: JPW. Coordinated quarry mapping and photography: LM EE.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0080405