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Maquetación 1 GEOGACETA, 53, 2013 First evidence of stegosaurs (Dinosauria: Thyreophora) in the Vega Formation, Kimmeridgian, Asturias, N Spain Primera evidencia de estegosaurios (Dinosauria: Thyreophora) en la Formación Vega, Kimmeridgiense, Asturias José Ignacio Ruiz-Omeñaca1, Xabier Pereda Suberbiola2, Laura Piñuela1 and José Carlos García-Ramos1 1 Museo del Jurásico de Asturias (MUJA), 33328 Colunga, Spain. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 2 Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Apartado 644, 48080 Bilbao, Spain. [email protected] ABSTRACT RESUMEN We describe a dinosaur caudal centrum from an outcrop of the Vega Se describe un centro vertebral caudal de dinosaurio procedente de un Formation (Kimmeridgian) in Colunga (Asturias Principality, Northern Spain). afloramiento de la Formación Vega (Kimmeridgiense) en Colunga (Asturias). It is very similar to the centra of mid-caudal vertebrae of some stegosaurs, Es muy similar a los centros de vértebras caudales medias de algunos este- like Dacentrurus and Stegosaurus, which are characterized by the presence gosaurios, como Dacentrurus y Stegosaurus, que se caracterizan por la pre- of well developed haemal processes on the posteroventral corner. Because sencia de procesos hemales posteroventrales, pero no es diagnóstica a nivel this character is not diagnostic to the generic level, the vertebral centrum is de género, por lo que se asigna a Stegosauria indet. Constituye la primera assigned to Stegosauria indet. This is the first evidence of stegosaurs in this evidencia de estegosaurios en esta formación geológica. geological formation. Palabras clave: Península Ibérica, Jurásico Superior, vértebra caudal, Key-words: Iberian Peninsula, Late Jurassic, caudal vertebra, Dacentrurus, Dacentrurus, Stegosaurus. Stegosaurus. Geogaceta, 53 (2013), 37-40. Fecha de recepción: 12 de julio de 2012 ISSN (versión impresa): 0213-683X Fecha de revisión: 25 de octubre de 2012 ISSN (Internet): 2173-6545 Fecha de aceptación: 30 de noviembre de 2012 Introduction garded all the Iberian material previoulsy nian (Sobral Formation) of Lisbon district assigned to Dacentrutrus armatus (Owen (Mateus et al., 2009). Stegosaurian fossils are relatively fre- 1875) as Dacentrurus sp. In Asturias, stegosaur evidences have quent in the Late Jurassic of the Iberian Stegosaurus and Miragaia are exclusive been found in Tereñes and Lastres forma- Peninsula.Three genera have been cited up of Portugal: tions (Kimmeridgian), which have provided to now: Dacentrurus Lucas 1902, Stegosaurus cf. ungulatus has been des- prints and trackways assigned to the ichno- Stegosaurus Marsh 1877 and Miragaia Ma- cribed in the Kimmeridgian-lower Tithonian genus Deltapodus (García-Ramos et al., teus, Maidment et Christiansen 2009. (Alcobaça Formation) of Leiria district, Por- 2008; Lockley et al., 2008).A locality in the Dacentrurus has been described in both tugal (Escaso et al., 2007a; later asigned to Lastres Formation (La Escalera, Villaviciosa) Portugal and Spain. Portuguese remains Stegosaurus armatus Marsh 1877 by Maid- contains the only body fossils described up have been recovered since the 1940’s in the ment et al., 2008), and Stegosaurus sp. has to now, assigned to Dacentrurinae indet. districts of Leiria and Lisboa (Galton, 1991; been described in the upper Kimmeridgian- (see Company et al., 2010: Table 1). see also Escaso et al., 2007b, Maidment et lower Tithonian (Lourinhã Group) of Leiria In this paper we describe an isolated al., 2008 and references). and Lisbon districts (Escaso et al., 2008a, vertebral centrum from the Vega Formation. Spanish remains, discovered since 1995 2008b). This is the first evidence of stegosaurs in to now, come from Valencia, Teruel and, Miragaia longicollum Mateus, Maid- that formation, where, hitherto, only thero- with reservations, Burgos provinces (Com- ment et Christiansen 2009, the type and pod and sauropod remains have been de- pany et al., 2010, and references therein). only known species of the genus, comes scribed. Maidment et al. (2008; p. 372) have re- from the upper Kimmeridgian-lower Titho- Copyright© 2013 Sociedad Geológica de España / www.geogaceta.com 37 GEOGACETA, 53, 2013 J.I. Ruiz-Omeñaca, X. Pereda Suberbiola, L. Piñuela and J.C. García-Ramos Geographical and geological sured over the posterior end).The preserved surface (Fig. 1B: “ch”, 1D). These protuber- location width of the posterior articular face is 87 ances are called “hemal processes” by Gal- mm, but the estimated total width of this ton (1985; p. 220), and are not developed The vertebral centrum described here articular surface would be 104 mm (calcu- on the anteroventral surface. was found in 2003 by one of us (L.P.) in the lated by duplicating the width of the right In ventral view, the haemal processes removed materials of the Vega Formation half measured from the center of that face). are triangular in shape (Fig. 1D).They meas- that crop out 1.7 km north of the town of So, the centrum is slightly wider than high, ure 25 mm antero-posteriorly, 20 mm la- Colunga (Asturias Principality, Northern and higher than long. teromedially and 8 mm dorsoventrally. Spain), when the access road that leads to Both articular surfaces are slightly con- the Museo del Jurásico de Asturias (Juras- cave, so the centrum is amphicoelous. The Discussion sic Museum of Asturias), opened April 2004, excavation on the posterior surface is was in construction. deeper than on the anterior one, which is MUJA-1271 has been identified as a The Vega Formation is a fluviatile unit nearly flat (Fig. 1A, 1C ). mid-caudal centrum by the presence of 1) in the base of the Ribadesella Group, an The form of both articular faces is not facets for chevrons, and 2) a reduced trans- Upper Jurassic sucession made up by four fully observable, but it seems to be sub- verse process. The anterior most caudals formations (Vega, La Ñora,Tereñes and Las- hexagonal to circular. Concentric rings are have no chevron facets and the posterior tres) that crops out in the Gijón-Villaviciosa developed in the external edges of both ar- most ones have no transverse processes Basin, in the northern sector of Asturias. ticular faces, and are more marked on the (Gilmore, 1914; Galton, 1985; Galton and The Vega Formation has been dated as ventral edge. Upchurch, 2004). Kimmeridgian according to ostracods and The lateral side (Fig. 1B) is dorso-ven- Among dinosaurs, the presence of pro- charophytes found in the sections of Playa trally convex and anteroposteriorly concave, ximodorsal projections in the transverse de Vega and Ribadesella (see Schudack and and small nutrient foramina are randomly process is exclusive of stegosaurs. These Schudack, 2002, and references therein), distributed. On the right side there is a structures are always developed in the an- east of Colunga. transverse process (Fig. 1C: “tp”). It is terior half of the transverse process and so placed very high on the centrum, possibly they permit to orientate the centrum. Systematic palaeontology near the base of the pedicels of the neural The most striking feature of this verte- arch, which are not preserved. bra is the presence of well-developed facets Dinosauria Owen 1842 The transverse process is inclined, so its for chevrons (haemal processes) on the pos- Ornithischia Seeley 1888 anterior edge is above the level of the pos- teroventral corner. Stegosauria Marsh 1877 terior one; it forms an angle of about 30º According to Galton and Upchurch with the horizontal. (2004; p. 353), in stegosaurian caudals “the Stegosauria indet. (Fig. 1) The transverse process is anteroposte- proximal chevron facet is usually much riorly elongated and its anterior edge is bro- smaller than the distal chevron facet and Material and provenance ken. It measures, as preserved, 30 mm an- well separated from it”.This feature and the teroposteriorly, 20 mm lateromedially, and general morphology (and size) of the cau- One isolated caudal centrum from Co- 15 mm dorsoventrally. dal vertebra are coherent with its assign- lunga (Asturias Principality, Spain), housed MUJA-1271 shows evidence of a pro- ment to Stegosauria. In ankylosaurs, the in the Museo del Jurásico de Asturias ximodorsal projection on the transverse chevron facets of the caudal vertebrae are (MUJA-1271).Vega Formation, Upper Juras- process (Fig. 1B, 1C; “dorsal process” in commonly less marked, and there is no ev- sic, Kimmerigdian. Galton and Upchurch, 2004). However, this idence of a proximodorsal projection in the part of the centrum is not well preserved transverse process. Description and the size of this projection can not be The Late Jurassic record of ankylosaurs established, but it will be small, as is the in Europe is rather scarce as compared to MUJA-1271 is a partial centrum that case in Dacentrurus (Galton and Upchurch, that of stegosaurs, with only a few disco- preserves the right lateral and ventral sides, 2004; p. 353). veries, including the material of Dracopelta and the half of the proximal and distal ends. The dorsal side is not preserved, so it is Galton 1980 from the Tithonian of Portugal The missing parts of the vertebra (left half of not known if the neural arch was or was not (but no caudal vertebrae are known; see the centrum and, probably, the neural arch) fused to the centrum. In the dorsal most Galton, 1983). In Asturias, stegosaurs have were destroyed by the construction vehicles preserved part of the right lateral side there been described so far in Late Jurassic sites that excavated the access road to the is a shallow elongated depression over the on the basis of both osteological and ich- MUJA. transverse process. nological evidences, whereas ankylosaurs The matrix that surrounded the centrum The ventral side (Fig. 1D) is lateromedi- are currently unknown. had a small crocodylomorph crown tooth (8 ally flat and anteroposteriorly concave, and Haemal processes were already men- mm high) that was removed during the presents facets for the chevrons.
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