Dinosaur paleobiology inferences + oldest dinosaurs and vertebrates from Cretaceous of Maestrazgo Basin, Spain
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Ben Creisler
Mar 5, 2026, 2:24:57 AM (8 days ago) Mar 5
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
Michael J. Benton & Emily J. Rayfield (2026)
Bringing dinosaurs to life: A scientific revolution in palaeobiological methods
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113684
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.113684
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018226001471
Highlights
There has been a revolution in testability of palaeobiological inferences
The shift in research mode began with a classic work by R. McNeil Alexander in 1976 about how to calculate dinosaur running speed
Since then, similar modes of research have been adopted in inferring many details of feeding, locomotion, senses, growth, thermophysiology, and even colour of dinosaurs
We term the package of testable assumptions from modern biology, the neontological toolkit
Abstract
Here, we explore the spread of hypothesis testing in modern palaeobiology in the past 60 years. Our focus is dinosaurs, and we show how standard techniques in functional biomechanics, ecology, and evolution are now applied even-handedly to modern and fossil taxa to supplant the earlier, more speculative approaches. This new, analytical approach combines what we term neontological toolkits, sets of established observations and rules from the modern world that we can apply to past situations, together with the extant phylogenetic bracket, the definition of a wider clade within which the fossil taxon of interest resides. Earlier suggestions by philosophers that the ‘historical sciences’ like geology, palaeontology, archaeology, and astronomy are not open to testing are refuted, as is the idea that palaeontology must devote itself solely to describing one-off patterns and not seeking generalisable hypotheses or testing processes. Underdetermined some of it may be, but palaeobiology can still go a long way in reconstructing the evolution, ecology, function, and behaviour of ancient organisms, as we show from examples in the evolution, ecology, and function (feeding, locomotion, senses, growth, thermophysiology) of dinosaurs.
Josué García-Cobeña, Sergio Sánchez-Fenollosa, Pablo Cabrera-Argudo & Alberto Cobos (2026)
The oldest dinosaurs and other vertebrates from the Cretaceous of the southwestern Maestrazgo Basin (Teruel, Spain)
Cretaceous Research 106362
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2026.106362
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667126000510
Highlights
Study expands knowledge about Early Cretaceous vertebrate diversity.
Wetland habitats supported diverse aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates.
Fauna includes fishes, turtles, crocodylomorphs, and multiple dinosaur clades.
Recurring faunas suggest favourable regions for these animals.
Recognised fauna diversity similar to other from Lower Cretaceous of Europe.
Abstract
The lacustrine-palustrine El Castellar Formation (upper Hauterivian—lower Barremian, Lower Cretaceous) of the province of Teruel (Spain) preserves a diverse vertebrate fauna. In particular, the fossil record of this unit in the Peñagolosa sub-basin (southwestern Maestrazgo Basin) is notably rich and diverse, although often fragmented and isolated. Given that most material has been recovered through surface collecting, previously published studies have predominantly focused on dinosaurian remains (which is likely exacerbated by collection and taphonomic biases). Herein, new chondrichthyan, testudinates, crocodylomorphs, and dinosaurs identified using this method are described. This study indicates that the vertebrate palaeodiversity of the El Castellar Formation in the Peñagolosa sub-basin is represented by styracosternan ornithopods as predominant faunal components, including a medium-sized ornithopod likely related to the back-sailed Morelladon, and the previously reported large Iguanodon cf. galvensis from the same unit. Scarce sauropods such as cf. Oplosaurus and Titanosauriformes, theropods such as spinosaurids and potential carcharodontosaurids as apex predators, crocodylomorphs belonging to Goniopholididae, testudinates represented by helochelydrids and pleurosternids, and hybodont sharks such as Planohybodus are also present. This fauna inhabited an extensive coastal wetland system comprising alluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine areas. Similar vertebrate diversity has been recorded in other coeval (lower Barremian) deposits in Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, among other European regions. Future work focusing on the study of microfossils (obtained through alternative methods), vegetation, and ichthyofauna could provide a better understanding of the Barremian ecosystem that developed in the Peñagolosa sub-basin of eastern Spain.
New papers:
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Michael J. Benton & Emily J. Rayfield (2026)
Bringing dinosaurs to life: A scientific revolution in palaeobiological methods
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113684
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.113684
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018226001471
Highlights
There has been a revolution in testability of palaeobiological inferences
The shift in research mode began with a classic work by R. McNeil Alexander in 1976 about how to calculate dinosaur running speed
Since then, similar modes of research have been adopted in inferring many details of feeding, locomotion, senses, growth, thermophysiology, and even colour of dinosaurs
We term the package of testable assumptions from modern biology, the neontological toolkit
Abstract
Here, we explore the spread of hypothesis testing in modern palaeobiology in the past 60 years. Our focus is dinosaurs, and we show how standard techniques in functional biomechanics, ecology, and evolution are now applied even-handedly to modern and fossil taxa to supplant the earlier, more speculative approaches. This new, analytical approach combines what we term neontological toolkits, sets of established observations and rules from the modern world that we can apply to past situations, together with the extant phylogenetic bracket, the definition of a wider clade within which the fossil taxon of interest resides. Earlier suggestions by philosophers that the ‘historical sciences’ like geology, palaeontology, archaeology, and astronomy are not open to testing are refuted, as is the idea that palaeontology must devote itself solely to describing one-off patterns and not seeking generalisable hypotheses or testing processes. Underdetermined some of it may be, but palaeobiology can still go a long way in reconstructing the evolution, ecology, function, and behaviour of ancient organisms, as we show from examples in the evolution, ecology, and function (feeding, locomotion, senses, growth, thermophysiology) of dinosaurs.
====
Josué García-Cobeña, Sergio Sánchez-Fenollosa, Pablo Cabrera-Argudo & Alberto Cobos (2026)
The oldest dinosaurs and other vertebrates from the Cretaceous of the southwestern Maestrazgo Basin (Teruel, Spain)
Cretaceous Research 106362
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2026.106362
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667126000510
Highlights
Study expands knowledge about Early Cretaceous vertebrate diversity.
Wetland habitats supported diverse aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates.
Fauna includes fishes, turtles, crocodylomorphs, and multiple dinosaur clades.
Recurring faunas suggest favourable regions for these animals.
Recognised fauna diversity similar to other from Lower Cretaceous of Europe.
Abstract
The lacustrine-palustrine El Castellar Formation (upper Hauterivian—lower Barremian, Lower Cretaceous) of the province of Teruel (Spain) preserves a diverse vertebrate fauna. In particular, the fossil record of this unit in the Peñagolosa sub-basin (southwestern Maestrazgo Basin) is notably rich and diverse, although often fragmented and isolated. Given that most material has been recovered through surface collecting, previously published studies have predominantly focused on dinosaurian remains (which is likely exacerbated by collection and taphonomic biases). Herein, new chondrichthyan, testudinates, crocodylomorphs, and dinosaurs identified using this method are described. This study indicates that the vertebrate palaeodiversity of the El Castellar Formation in the Peñagolosa sub-basin is represented by styracosternan ornithopods as predominant faunal components, including a medium-sized ornithopod likely related to the back-sailed Morelladon, and the previously reported large Iguanodon cf. galvensis from the same unit. Scarce sauropods such as cf. Oplosaurus and Titanosauriformes, theropods such as spinosaurids and potential carcharodontosaurids as apex predators, crocodylomorphs belonging to Goniopholididae, testudinates represented by helochelydrids and pleurosternids, and hybodont sharks such as Planohybodus are also present. This fauna inhabited an extensive coastal wetland system comprising alluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine areas. Similar vertebrate diversity has been recorded in other coeval (lower Barremian) deposits in Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, among other European regions. Future work focusing on the study of microfossils (obtained through alternative methods), vegetation, and ichthyofauna could provide a better understanding of the Barremian ecosystem that developed in the Peñagolosa sub-basin of eastern Spain.
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