Dinosaurs Castellon Morela I What did dinosaurs eat millions of years ago in Castellon? A scientific study discovers your diet

Since the origin of the study of dinosaurs in the Iberian Peninsula, the deposits that appear in the Els Portes area and, more specifically, in City area Morella, They were related because of the abundance of fossil remains Dinosaurs inhabited this area about 125-120 million years ago Yearsduring the Early Cretaceous period.

However, over the past decades, they are There are few works that have highlighted information related to plants Which ecosystems would constitute, therefore, an important part of Dinosaur diet like Iguanodon also Moreladon.

A multidisciplinary and international team of paleontologists published a study in which this was revealed What type of plants were part of Iberian ecosystems With dinosaurs during the Upper Paremian. These investigations were recently published in the prestigious journal Cretaceous research.

In the work, the authors provide a detailed description of The ancient remains of one of the last existing deposits in the Vega del Mol mining concession areawhich also highlighted a new dinosaur specimen, which still needs to be studied, related to this species Iguanodon bernissartensis. A total of 27 genera of spores, pollen, algae, and dinoflagellates It was documented among the members of the studied sample.

The data obtained allow us to determine that the groups of this dinosaur were dominated by plant communities that accompanied the collections of this dinosaur Conifers that can reach large dimensions, such as the extinct Cheirolepidiaceae group. Moreover, he was with them Tree ferns of the Ciatheaceae group and other conifers that have reached enormous heights It belongs to the podocarpaceae group, and its presence is currently limited to the Southern Hemisphere.

All these plants will be supported by a A dense growth consisting of small ferns and liverworts, among its inhabitants Iguanodon And other dinosaurs with social habits.

On the other hand, in this research work we also conducted a study The environment in which the materials that led to the creation of the site were deposited Its relationship to the sedimentary environments of other European sites in which fossil remains of dinosaurs have also been found has been discussed. Iguanodon bernissartensis.

Floral and sedimentary fossil evidence indicates that the ecosystem in this peninsular area corresponds to A The coastal forests are very close to the delta area Where environmental conditions were warm and humid.

Regarding the eating habits of dinosaurs such as Iguanodon also morilladon, The results obtained in the study indicate this Both the fronds of these two groups of ferns and the leaves of those of conifers It can be among the main food sources for the inhabitants of most of southern Europe Iguanodon bernissartensis.

Finally, through this comparative analysis, it was shown that this type of herbivorous dinosaur, widely distributed throughout the westernmost region of what is now Europe, offered wide flexibility in terms of choice of environments, which allowed it to be a dinosaur. With greatest ecological success within early Cretaceous European dinosaur communities.

The study was a collaboration with researchers and paleontologists from the University of Vigo, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the University of Bonn, and the Evolutionary Biology Group at the National University of Distance Education (UNED).