Paleontologists from Fundación Dinópolis have announced the discovery of the first confirmed Diplodocus fossils found outside North America. The remains were recovered at the La Tejería site near El Castellar in Teruel province, Spain, and date to roughly 150 million years ago, near the end of the Jurassic period.
Discovery and Fossil Material
The Spanish specimen consists of fourteen well‑preserved tail vertebrae and several chevron bones. According to Ph.D. student Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa, the find allows researchers to better understand Iberian Mesozoic ecosystems and the diversity of sauropod dinosaurs that lived in the European Jurassic. “We are delighted with this discovery,” Sánchez Fenollosa said, adding that each new result clarified the identification as a Diplodocus.
Dr. Alberto Cobos, managing director of Fundación Dinópolis, highlighted the size of the animal, estimating a length of about 25 metres (82 feet), comparable to its American relatives. He placed the specimen among other giant sauropods known from the Teruel region, such as Turiasaurus and Losillasaurus, which possess markedly different anatomical traits.
Researchers noted that early osteological analysis revealed strong similarities with several diplodocine sauropods. As the team examined the anatomy more closely, they identified a combination of features characteristic of Diplodocus species. Evolutionary analyses repeatedly pointed to the same conclusion, leading the scientists to affirm that the bones belong to a Diplodocus.
Implications for Jurassic Biogeography
The presence of Diplodocus in Iberia offers compelling evidence that dinosaurs migrated between North America and Europe during the Late Jurassic. Sánchez Fenollosa suggested that temporary land bridges may have formed as the proto‑North Atlantic Ocean receded, providing pathways for faunal exchange. “The outcome of the dig is some of the strongest paleontological evidence for episodes of dispersal and faunal exchange between the two continents across the proto‑Atlantic Ocean during the Late Jurassic,” he explained.
According to the research team, the new Diplodocus specimen, together with other dinosaur fossils from Teruel, positions the region as a reference point for studying Jurassic diversity and intercontinental dispersal. The findings will be detailed in an upcoming paper in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, authored by Sánchez Fenollosa and colleagues.These results not only expand the known geographic range of the iconic genus Diplodocus, first described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, but also reinforce the idea that Late Jurassic ecosystems were more interconnected than previously thought. The discovery underscores the importance of continued fieldwork in understudied European sites and may prompt re‑examination of other sauropod assemblages for hidden evidence of trans‑Atlantic movement.
Norman Pearlstine is the Executive Editor and Co-Founder at News Raise. With over two decades of experience across financial journalism, corporate governance, and market analysis, Norman leads the editorial direction and ensures strict adherence to journalistic accuracy and ethics.
