Demandasaurus darwini, a New Rebbachisaurid Sauropod from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

A new medium-sized rebbachisaurid sauropod from the Castrillo la Reina Formation (Upper Barremian-Lower Aptian) in Burgos Province, Demandasaurus darwini gen. et sp. nov., is described. It is known from an incomplete but associated skeleton that includes cranial and post-cranial remains. Demandasaurus darwini gen. et sp. nov. presents 9 autapomorphies in the teeth and vertebrae. Demandasaurus is the first diplodocoid sauropod described from the Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. Its inclusion in the Rebbachisauridae is well supported by our phylogenetic hypothesis, which situates it as a sister group of Nigersaurus from the Aptian of Niger, with which it shares various synapomorphies. The discovery of Demandasaurus provides further evidence of the sporadic use of the Apulian Route by dinosaurs during the Early Cretaceous for moving between the south of Europe (Laurasia) and the north of Africa (Gondwana).