GEOBIOTEC, Department of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Caparica, Portugal.
Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal.
PLoS One. 2022 Feb 16;17(2):e0262614. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262614. eCollection 2022.
Spinosaurids are some of the most enigmatic Mesozoic theropod dinosaurs due to their unique adaptations to aquatic environments and their relative scarcity. Their taxonomy has proven to be especially problematic. Recent discoveries from Western Europe in general, specifically Iberia, provide some of the best specimens for the understanding of their phylogeny, leading to the description of the spinosaurid Vallibonavenatrix cani and the recognition of the Iberian dinosaur Camarillasaurus cirugedae as one of them. Portuguese associated spinosaurid remains (ML1190) from the Papo Seco Formation (early Barremian) were previously assigned to Baryonyx walkeri but new material recovered in 2020 along with new phylogenetic analyses suggests a different phylogenetic placement, making their revision necessary. Here we show that these remains are not attributable to Baryonyx walkeri, but to a new genus and species, Iberospinus natarioi, gen. et sp. nov. The new taxon is characterized by the presence of a single Meckelian foramen in the Meckelian sulcus, a straight profile of the ventral surface of the dentary and a distal thickening of the acromion process of the pubis between other characters. Iberospinus natarioi is recovered as a sister taxon of the clade formed by Baryonyx and Suchomimus, and outside Spinosaurinae when Vallibonaventrix cani is excluded from the analysis. The description of this taxon reinforces Iberia as a hotspot for spinosaur biodiversity, with several endemic taxa for the region. As expected for the clade, the dentary displays a highly vascularized neurovascular network. The morphometric analysis of parts of the skeleton (pedal phalanx and caudal vertebrae, among others) shows an intermediate condition between basal tetanurans and spinosaurines.
棘龙类是中生代兽脚亚目恐龙中最神秘的恐龙之一,因为它们对水生环境的独特适应和相对稀少。它们的分类学一直是一个特别棘手的问题。最近在西欧,特别是伊比利亚半岛的发现,为了解它们的系统发育提供了一些最好的标本,这导致了棘龙类恐龙瓦里诺文塔斯·卡尼的描述,并认识到伊比利亚恐龙卡马利拉塞拉·库里加德是其中之一。来自帕波塞科组(早巴雷姆期)的葡萄牙相关棘龙类遗骸(ML1190)以前被分配给斑龙,但 2020 年新发现的材料和新的系统发育分析表明,它们的系统发育位置不同,因此需要对其进行修订。在这里,我们表明这些遗骸不属于斑龙,而是属于一个新的属和种,即伊比利亚棘龙,属名和种名。新的分类群的特征是在麦氏管裂沟中有一个单一的麦氏管孔,下颌骨腹面的直线轮廓,以及耻骨的肩峰突起在远端变厚,还有其他特征。伊比利亚棘龙被恢复为斑龙和似鳄龙形成的分支的姊妹分类群,当瓦里诺文塔斯·卡尼被排除在分析之外时,它也在棘龙科之外。该分类群的描述加强了伊比利亚作为棘龙生物多样性热点地区的地位,该地区有几个特有分类群。正如该分支所预期的那样,下颌骨显示出高度血管化的神经血管网络。骨骼部分(跖骨趾节和尾椎骨等)的形态计量分析显示出介于基础坚尾龙类和棘龙类之间的中间状态。