Glenn Wickman
A NEW species of dinosaur has been discovered in Castellon province in Spain’s Valencia region.
Investigators working at the Portell de Morella (Els Ports) archaeological dig have unearthed fossilised remains of a previously unknown species they have baptised as Portellsaurus sosbaynati.
Similar to an iguanodon or large iguana, the creature measured eight metres long, weighed one tonne and lived in the area 130 million years ago.
The large herbivore is said to be related to other similar species that inhabited what is now China and Nigeria just after the Jurassic period.
Investigators reached their conclusions after uncovering a full jawbone in what has become one of the top spots in Spain for dinosaur discoveries, with up to 250 other items currently being tested at the lab and which could yield even more revolutionary results.
Spokespeople for the team explain that the jawbone has a unique set of characteristics that make the creature unique throughout the world. It is also the oldest species of dinosaur discovered so far in Castellon Province.
The name Portellsaurus sosbaynati combines the site where the remains were found, Portell, with the Greek term sauros – ‘lizard’ – plus the surnames of Vicente Sos Banyat, the first scientist to receive an honorary doctorate by the UJI.
The find, made jointly by palaeontologists at Castellon’s Universidad Jaume I (UJI) and Valencia University, is the culmination of several years of investigations and the results have been published Thursday in prestigious North American scientific journal Plos One.
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