New theropod remains from the late Barremian (Early Cretaceous) of Eastern Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the last decade, the Iberian Peninsula has become a hot spot in the understanding of the early evolutionary history of large-bodied theropods from the Early Cretaceous, especially for the Spinosauridae and Carcharodontosauridae families. To date, at least five species of spinosaurids and one species of carcharodontosaurid inhabited the Iberian region during the Barremian. However, the discovery of new fossil remains suggests that such a diversity of medium- to large-sized theropods could be even higher. Here, we describe an unpublished large theropod tooth and two caudal vertebrae collected in the late 70s in the upper Barremian strata of the Arcillas de Morella Formation (Morella, eastern Spain). The tooth element displays a series of features that allow its identification as cf. Protathlitis, while the vertebral elements are tentatively attributed to an indeterminate carcharodontosaurid. Interestingly, these last remains are different from those of Concavenator, allowing speculation about the occurrence of another species of carcharodontosaurid allosauroids in the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Cretaceous apart from the famed humpbacked dinosaurs and with some reminiscence to Acrocanthosaurus. Therefore, the new findings clearly illustrate the significance of any new theropod remains in depicting the theropod diversity before the final break-up of Pangea in the Iberian Peninsula.