Villar Del Arzobispo Research Articles

The use of experimental data and their uncertainty for assessing ozone photochemistry in the Eastern Iberian Peninsula

Observation-based methods are useful tools to explore the sensitivity of ozone concentrations to precursor controls. With the aim of assessing the ozone precursor sensitivity in two locations: Paterna (suburban) and Villar del Arzobispo (rural) of the Turia river basin in the east of Spain, the photochemical indicator O3/NOy and the Extent-of-Reaction (EOR) parameter have been calculated from field measurements. In Paterna, the O3/NOy ratio varied from 0 to 13 with an average value of 5.1 (SD 3.2), whereas the averaged value for the EOR was 0.43 (SD 0.14). In Villar del Arzobispo, the O3/NOy ratio changed from 5 to 30 with a mean value of 13.6 (SD 4.7) and the EOR gave an averaged value of 0.72 (SD 0.11). The results show two different patterns of ozone production as a function of the location. The suburban area shows a VOC-sensitive regime whereas the rural one shows a transition regime close to NOx-sensitive conditions. No seasonal differences in these regimes are observed along the monitoring campaigns. Finally, an analysis of the influence of the measurement quality of NOy, NOx and O3 on the uncertainty of the O3/NOy ratio and the EOR was performed showing that the uncertainty of O3/NOy is not dependent on either its value or the individual values of O3 and NOy but just on the quality of O3 and NOy measurements. The maximum uncertainty is 26% as long as the combined uncertainties of O3 and NOy remain below the 7.5%. The case of the EOR is different and its uncertainty depends on both the value of the EOR parameter and the individual concentration values of NOy and NOx. The uncertainty of the EOR estimation can be very high (>200%) if the combined uncertainties of both NOy and NOx are high (>7.5%), or especially, if u(NOy) and u(NOx) differ considerably from each other (>3.5%).

Theropod teeth diversity from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian–Berriasian) at Riodeva (Teruel, Spain)

Riodeva sites (Villar del Arzobispo Fm) in Teruel, Spain, have revealed themselves as a window through which to gain a better understanding of the Iberian dinosaurs of the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition. Nevertheless, the theropod record from this Formation is scarce. Based on our study of a sample of theropod teeth recovered from different Riodevan sites, we have come to the conclusion that dinosaur assemblages in Riodeva include at least three different kinds of theropods: big non-coelurosaur tetanurans, middle-sized allosaurids and small dromaeosaurs. These three types of theropods represent new elements in the record of dinosaurs, which until now includes sauropods (turiasaurians, diplodocids, macronarians), stegosaurs and ornithopods.

New information about the stratigraphic position and age of the sauropodAragosaurus ischiaticusfrom the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula

AbstractThe sauropodAragosaurus ischiaticusSanz, Buscalioni, Casanovas & Santafé, 1987 was the first dinosaur to be described in Spain. The holotype was recovered from the site of Las Zabacheras (Galve, Teruel province). This site has traditionally been situated in the El Castellar Formation (in the lower part of the Wealden facies). Recently, it has been proposed that the remains ofAragosaurusstem from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (late Tithonian–upper part of the early Berriasian), which would mean that the sauropod was almost 15 million years older than previously thought. Detailed field work has been carried out, making it possible to pinpoint the position of the low-angle unconformity between the Villar del Arzobispo Formation and the El Castellar Formation. This unconformity originated as a result of block tilting that occurred during the early stages of the Early Cretaceous rifting episode. The upper levels of the Jurassic sequence (i.e. the Villar del Arzobispo Formation) were exposed to erosion and karstification, leading to the formation of a discontinuous conglomeratic level. This level has been locally preserved at the bottom of the Wealden syn-rift sequence (i.e. the El Castellar Formation). The results of our detailed mapping demonstrate that theAragosaurusholotype was found in the lower part of the El Castellar Formation. Moreover, our revision of the existing datings suggests that the El Castellar Formation as a whole is Valanginian?–early Barremian in age. Given thatAragosauruswas located in its lower part, it is probably Valanginian?–Hauterivian in age.

Geology and Application of Clays Used in Castellon Ceramic Cluster (NE, Spain)

The general characteristics and technological properties of ceramic clays used in the Spanish ceramic cluster (Castellón province), have been investigated. Red clays for ceramic wall tiles and floor tiles are mainly extracted in the Valencian Community, in Villar del Arzobispo, La Yesa, Chulilla, Alcora (Más Vell) and San Juan de Moró, although there is a small proportion coming from Teruel province. An important group of clay raw materials used in the ceramic cluster of Castellón, in Spain, occurs in Permo-Triassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments. These clays are intended for applications in stoneware. Clays were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, chemical composition, particle size distribution, thermal analysis and plasticity. Ceramic bodies were fired at temperatures varying from 850 to 1150ºC to determine the linear shrinkage, water absorption and flexural rupture strength.

New evidence of a herd of titanosauriform sauropods from the lower Berriasian of the Iberian range (Spain)

A study of the undescribed part of the Las Cerradicas tracksite in Galve (Teruel, Spain) has revealed 6 trackways made by small sauropods showing gregarious behaviour (parallel trackways). Las Cerradicas is located towards the top of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (early Berriasian). The wide-gauge condition, the manus–pes distance, the kidney-shaped morphology of the manus, and the subtriangular morphology of the pes (with a big digit I that swells medially and a narrow heel oriented posterolaterally) suggest that the sauropods in question are more similar to Sauropodichnus giganteus than to any other sauropod ichnotaxa. Some of the features point to the titanosauriforms as the best candidates to be the trackmakers. Recent work in bone histology, the differences with respect to other Iberian tracksites of similar age, and the differences with respect to other sauropod herds of the track record, do not allow us to establish whether the sauropods were juvenile or dwarfs. The sauropod skeletal record and other large sauropod footprints in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation could tip the scales in favour of the first hypothesis.

New stegosaurian (Ornithischia, Thyreophora) remains from Jurassic-Cretaceous transition beds of Valencia province (Southwestern Iberian Range, Spain)

New stegosaurian remains have been recently recovered from the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition sandstones of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian-Berriasian) in the Valencia province, eastern Spain. Specimens consist of two partially articulated (or closely associated) postcranial skeletons. The Baldovar specimen is composed of appendicular bones (scapula, femur) and two pairs of dermal tail spines, two of them articulated with two distal caudal vertebrae. The second specimen, unearthed in the vicinity of La Yesa village, consists of dorsal vertebrae and ribs, fragments of caudal centra and an incomplete femur. The new specimens are tentatively referred to the clade Dacentrurinae and may belong to Dacentrurus on the basis of features observed on the dorsal vertebrae and caudal dermal spines. Stegosaurs are represented so far in the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition of Spain by Dacentrurus. The presence of other taxa (Stegosaurus, Miragaia) in Spain, recently documented in the Late Jurassic of Portugal, cannot be attested on the basis of the currently recorded material.

An Iberian stegosaurs paradise: The Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian–Berriasian) in Teruel (Spain)

Since 2002 a number of sites containing stegosaurian remains (bones and tracks) have been discovered in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian–Berriasian) in the Province of Teruel, Spain, mostly in the areas of El Castellar and Riodeva. The material from the latter consists of the postcranial remains of the axial, pelvic and appendicular skeleton of several different sized specimens related to the genus Dacentrurus. The footprints made by a stegosaurian at El Castellar site reflect a new type of medium gauge trackway: Deltapodus ibericus isp. nov. The presence of these tracks near abundant bones related to Dacentrurus highlights this geological formation as a window through which to examine the systematics, behaviour and palaeoecology of these thyreophoran dinosaurs. Since these fossil bones were discovered next to those of other sauropods and ornithopods ( Turiasaurus and Ornithopoda indet.) where there has been virtually no transport of the remains, and since stegosaurian tracks have been found in ichnoassociations with the same groups, they may have coexisted in the wetlands of restricted tidal environments during the Tithonian–Berriasian. The presence of common (or at least phylogenetically closely related) taxa and ichnotaxa in Western Europe, North America and Africa indicates that sea-level fall episodes may have occurred during which the fauna of each area may have reached the emerged regions of the others during the Late Jurassic.

New stegosaurian (Ornithischia, Thyreophora) remains from Jurassic-Cretaceous transition beds of Valencia province (Southwestern Iberian Range, Spain)

New stegosaurian remains have been recently recovered from the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition sandstones of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian-Berriasian) in the Valencia province, eastern Spain. Specimens consist of two partially articulated (or closely associated) postcranial skeletons. The Baldovar specimen is composed of appendicular bones (scapula, femur) and two pairs of dermal tail spines, two of them articulated with two distal caudal vertebrae. The second specimen, unearthed in the vicinity of La Yesa village, consists of dorsal vertebrae and ribs, fragments of caudal centra and an incomplete femur. The new specimens are tentatively referred to the clade Dacentrurinae and may belong to Dacentrurus on the basis of features observed on the dorsal vertebrae and caudal dermal spines. Stegosaurs are represented so far in the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition of Spain by Dacentrurus. The presence of other taxa (Stegosaurus, Miragaia) in Spain, recently documented in the Late Jurassic of Portugal, cannot be attested on the basis of the currently recorded material.

High European sauropod dinosaur diversity during Jurassic–Cretaceous transition in Riodeva (Teruel, Spain)

Abstract: Up to now, more than 40 dinosaur sites have been found in the latest Jurassic – earliest Cretaceous sedimentary outcrops (Villar del Arzobispo Formation) of Riodeva (Iberian Range, Spain). Those already excavated, as well as other findings, provide a large and diverse number of sauropod remains, suggesting a great diversity for this group in the Iberian Peninsula during this time. Vertebrae and ischial remains from Riodevan site RD‐13 are assigned to Turiasaurus riodevensis (a species described in RD‐10, Barrihonda site), which is part of the Turiasauria clade. This is the first time that a taxon is attributed to Turiasaurus genus out of its type site. A Neosauropod caudal vertebra from the RD‐11 site has been classified as Diplodocinae indet., supporting the previous attribution on an ilion also found in Riodeva (CPT‐1074) referring to the Diplodocidae clade. New remains from the RD‐28, RD‐41 and RD‐43 sites, of the same age, among which there are caudal vertebrae, are assigned to Macronaria. New sauropod footprints from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation complete the extraordinary sauropod record coming to light in the area. The inclusion of other sauropods from different contemporaneous exposures in Teruel within the Turiasauria clade adds new evidence of a great diversity of sauropods in Iberia during the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition. Turiasauria distribution contributes to the understanding of European and global palaeobiogeography.

Diente de un gran dinosaurio terópodo (Allosauroidea) de la Formación Villar del Arzobispo (Titónico-Berriasiense) de Riodeva (España)

An isolated theropod tooth from a microconglomerate of the Tithonian-Berriasian Villar del Arzobispo Formation at Riodeva (Aragon, Spain) is described. The specimen is remarkably large (apical length: 98.3 mm). The morphology of the tooth is compressed labiolingually, with denticules on the carinae reaching the base in the carina distal but not in the mesial one. These features and their large size allow us to include it in the clade Allosauroidea. Having in mind the dental variability existing among the tooth of the different genera of Allosauroidea we can not assign it to any definite group within this clade.

A Giant European Dinosaur and a New Sauropod Clade

Fossils of a giant sauropod dinosaur, Turiasaurus riodevensis, have been recovered from terrestrial deposits of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary) of Riodeva (Teruel Province, Spain). Its humerus length (1790 millimeters) and estimated mass (40 to 48 metric tons) indicate that it may have been the most massive terrestrial animal in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the fossil represents a member of a hitherto unrecognized group of primitive European eusauropods that evolved in the Jurassic.

Galveosaurus herreroi, a new sauropod dinosaur from Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian-Berriasian) of Spain

The Galve fossil sites (province of Teruel, Spain) have provided many Mesozoic vertebrate remains. Among these are isolated sauropod dinosaur bones, including one taxon reported only from this locality, Aragosaurus ischiaticus. Here, a new species is named from the Tithonian deposits of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, of Galve (Teruel province, Spain), Galveosaurus herreroi gen. et sp. nov. It is represented by two humeri, one sternal plate, one ischium, one scapula, one cervical vertebra, one caudal dorsal vertebra, five caudal vertebrae, one Y-shaped chevron and some fragments of ribs. This new species is an eusauropod dinosaur that shows primitive features such as a slightly curved ischium with an unexpanded distal end, amphicoelous vertebrae, neural spine not bifid and an unforked chevron. It appears to be closer to cetiosaurid genera such as Barapasaurus or Cetiosaurus. This new basal sauropod lived at the same time as the eusauropod Lourinhasaurus alenquerensis from Portugal. These are both relict genera that survived in the Iberian Peninsula when more derived neosauropods, such as Losillasaurus or Dinheirosaurus, had taken over other parts of Iberia.

Estado de las investigaciones sobre los Vertebrados del Jurásico Superior y Cretácico Inferior de Galve (Teruel)

Galve (Teruel, Spain) is not a single fossil site but an ensemble of more than 50 localities with Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate remains of Tithonian-Lower Barremian age. Galve fossil sites belong to the Maestrazgo basin (Central Iberian Range), Gaive Subbasin, and appear in four geological formations: Higueruelas Formation (Tithonian), Villar del Arzobispo Formation (upper Tithonian-middle Berriasian), El Castellar Formation (uppermost Hauterivianlowermost Barremian) and Camarillas Formation (lower Barremian). Most sites contain bony remains, but there are also paleoichnological and paleoological sites, with dinosaur and other reptilian tracks and eggshells. Mammals and dinosaurs are the best-known Gaive vertebrates, but some studies on sharks, bony fishes, amphibians, squamates and crocodiles have been published. Some groups, like turtles and pterosaurs, have not practically been studied yet. Galve is the type locality of severa1 taxa: the shark Lonchidion microselachos, the amphibian Galverpeton ibericum, the dinosaur Aragosaurus ischiaticus, the mammals Galveodon nannothus, Lavocatia alfambrensis, Eobaatar hispanicus, Parendotherium herreroi, Spalacotherium henkeli and Pocamus pepelui, and the dinosaur eggshell Macroolithus turolensis. In this paper we revise the knowledge on Galve vertebrates, and update the faunal list of its fossil sites, taking into account, for the first time, the stratigraphic distribution of the taxa.

Las cerradicas tracksite (Berriasian, Galve, Spain): Growing evidence for quadrupedal ornithopods

Dinosaur footprints occur in shallow marine sedimentary units of the Berriasian Villar del Arzobispo Formation in the Aliaga basin, NE Spain. Las Cerradicas is a small outcrop (25 m2), near Galve, with four dinosaur trackways. Three tridactyl trackways indicate bipedal animals, and have parallel orientation. A fourth or‐nithopod trackway indicates a quadrupedal animal and is the smallest among any reported in the literature (L = 23 cm, W = 23 cm of pes tracks). It has manus prints that are oval‐shaped impressions. These and other recent discoveries shed much light on the abundance of quadrupedal ornithopods during the early Cretaceous.

Une Microflore du Barrémien dans la Province de Valencia, Espagne

A Barremian microflora is recorded in the terrigenous facies (Weald) of the Lower Cretaceous in the northern region of the Province of Valencia (Spain), these beds have been poorly dated up to now due to the absence of fossils. The Villar del Arzobispo microflora correspond unquestionably to the Barremian-Aptien period, but the numerical importance of derived forms from the Jurassic, the remarkable variety of forms of Cicatricosisporites, and the rareness of pollen of Angiosperms, indicate a Barremian age to be more likely. This discovery permits us to establish the stratigraphical relationship of this terrigenousfacies of Villar del Arzobispo with the dated “Weald” of other areas of the Iberian Chain and to give a complete chrono-stratigraphical interpretation to the different litho-stratigraphical units that constitute the Lower Cretaceous of this region.