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Skin impressions of the last European dinosaurs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2016

VÍCTOR FONDEVILLA ,
BERNAT VILA ,
ORIOL OMS  and
ÀNGEL GALOBART
VÍCTOR FONDEVILLA*
Affiliation:
Departament de Geologia (Estratigrafia), Facultat de Ciències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Carrer de l'Eix central, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
BERNAT VILA
Affiliation:
Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Carrer de l'Escola Industrial, 23, 08201, Sabadell, Spain Museu de la Conca Dellà, Carrer del Museu, 4, 25650, Isona, Lleida, Spain
ORIOL OMS
Affiliation:
Departament de Geologia (Estratigrafia), Facultat de Ciències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Carrer de l'Eix central, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
ÀNGEL GALOBART
Affiliation:
Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Carrer de l'Escola Industrial, 23, 08201, Sabadell, Spain Museu de la Conca Dellà, Carrer del Museu, 4, 25650, Isona, Lleida, Spain
*
†Author for correspondence: [email protected]/[email protected]
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Abstract

Southwestern Europe is one of the best regions for characterizing the dinosaur assemblages that prevailed just before the end-Cretaceous extinction. Aiming to better document this scenario, we provide the first evidence of dinosaur skin impressions in the red-beds of the Tremp Formation (southern Pyrenees). The impressions are assigned to sauropods (probably titanosaurians) on the basis of their scale morphology, arrangement and size. They represent a valuable tool for analysing the last occurrences of the sauropod clade before the K–Pg extinction, as they fall within chron C29r (latest Maastrichtian), thus representing some of the last in situ remains of this clade worldwide.

Keywords

sauropodsintegumentsLate CretaceousTremp FormationPyreneesEurope
Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 154 , Issue 2 , March 2017 , pp. 393 - 398
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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