A new study has introduced Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra, a new species of sauropod dinosaur from Cuenca, Spain, shedding light on the diverse dinosaur lineages of late Cretaceous Europe.
A new species of sauropod dinosaur that lived in Cuenca, Spain, 75 million years ago has been described in a recent study led by Portuguese paleontologist Pedro Mocho from the Instituto Dom Luiz at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Sciences (CIÊNCIAS).
Unearthing Cretaceous Giants
The species, named Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra, was found in the Lo Hueco fossil site, a massive deposit discovered during the installation of the Madrid-Levante high-speed train (AVE) tracks in 2007. Since then, more than 12,000 fossils have been collected, giving rise to one of the most relevant collections of fossil vertebrates from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe.
The collection has been studied continuously thanks to national projects and the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, which has made it possible to increase the understanding of the ecosystems of southwestern Europe during the Late Cretaceous and also identify several new species for science.
Diverse Dinosaur Lineages in Iberia
“The study of this specimen allowed us to identify for the first time the presence of two distinct lineages of saltasauroids in the same fossil locality. One of these groups, called Lirainosaurinae, is relatively known in the Iberian region and is characterized by small and medium-sized species, which evolved in an island ecosystem. In other words, Europe was a huge archipelago made up of several islands during the Late Cretaceous.
However, Qunkasaura belongs to another group of sauropods, represented in the Iberian Peninsula by medium-large species 73 million years ago. This suggests to us that this lineage arrived in the Iberian Peninsula much later than other groups of dinosaurs,” explains Pedro Mocho, a paleontologist at CIÊNCIAS.
Insightful Findings from Lo Hueco Fossils
One of the most relevant features of the Lo Hueco fossil record is the abundance of large partial skeletons of sauropod dinosaurs, which are rare in the rest of Europe. Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra stands out for being one of the most complete sauropod skeletons found in Europe, including cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, part of the pelvic girdle, and elements of the limbs.
Their unique morphology, especially in the tail vertebrae, offers new insights into the non-avian dinosaurs of the Iberian Peninsula, a historically poorly understood group.
Taxonomic Classification and Historical Context
The study, recently published in Communications Biology, identifies Qunkasaura as a representative of the opisthocoelicaudine saltasaurids, a group present in the northern hemisphere (Laurasia). On the other hand, most Late Cretaceous sauropods from southwestern Europe, including Lohuecotitan pandafilandi, previously described from Lo Hueco, belong to the group Lirainosaurinae, a group of sauropods exclusive to the European continent.
This study suggests that Lo Hueco is the only place where the coexistence of both groups is known and proposes a new group of titanosaurs called Lohuecosauria, which includes representatives of both lineages. Lohuecosaurs may have originated on the southern continents (Gondwana) before dispersing globally.
Naming and Cultural Significance
The name Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra is made up of several geographic and cultural references close to the Lo Hueco site. “Qunka” refers to the oldest etymology of the toponym from the Cuenca and Fuentes area, “Saura” alludes to the feminine of the Latin saurus (lizard), but also pays homage to the painter Antonio Saura, and “pintiquiniestra” refers to the giant “Queen Pintiquiniestra,” character from a novel mentioned in ‘Don Quijote de la Mancha’ by Cervantes.
Future Research and Potential Discoveries
“Fortunately, the Lo Hueco deposit also preserves several skeletons of sauropod dinosaurs to be determined, which may correspond to new species and which will help us understand how these animals evolved,” concludes Mocho.
The study is part of the research conducted by the Evolutionary Biology Group at UNED on ecosystems with dinosaurs in the central Iberian Peninsula. Part of the skeleton of Qunkasaura is already on display in the Paleontological Museum of Castilla-La Mancha in Cuenca (Spain).
Reference: “A Spanish saltasauroid titanosaur reveals Europe as a melting pot of endemic and immigrant sauropods in the Late Cretaceous” by Pedro Mocho, Fernando Escaso, Fátima Marcos-Fernández, Adrián Páramo, José Luis Sanz, Daniel Vidal and Francisco Ortega, 4 September 2024, Communications Biology.
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06653-0
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2 Comments
This directs my brain to the curious question: Might this huge fossil represent something that could be perceived as a type of lake monster or river monster. It may walk on the bottom with only its neck and head visible to those above the water level. Just thinking…
The mite be 2 species of sauropod with wider skull one of them show no sign of land feature it has aquatic crocodile tail skin so it can swim they have less armor osteoderm skin a clear aquatic feature they allso were diverse with heavyly armor skin they are crocodilian .allso has whale nose worse than today crocodilian .one of them