An article published in the journal “PLOS ONE” describes a dinosaur with a “sail” on its back that lived about 125 million years ago in today’s Spain. Its skeleton isn’t complete but according to the team of the National Distance Education University (NDEU) in Madrid and the Autonomous University of Madrid (AUM) who examined it its characteristics are sufficiently distinctive to create a new genus called Morelladon. The species was named Morelladon beltrani.
The skeleton object of this research was found in a layer of Arcillas de Morella Formation in 2013. According to recent analyzes, the area dates from the late Barremian, a Cretaceous age that ended about 125 million years ago. The lack of various bones and especially of the skull makes its measures approximate, estimated by comparison with the dinosaurs related with it, in particular Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis. Morelladon beltrani had to be about 6 meters (20 feet) long and about 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall with a weight around a ton.
Various similarities, also with iguanodons, convinced the paleontologists who examined Morelladon beltrani that it was a ornithopod that was part of the clade Styracosterna, a large group that included various genera. Fossils of other species of this clade were also found in the same area of Spain, that 125 million years ago was an archipelago of islands. The discovery of these fossils suggest that in that time there was a wide variety of dinosaurs belonging to that clade of medium to large size.
Dr. Fernando Escaso, one of the authors of this research, pointed out that it was well known that the dinosaurs of the Morella area were similar to those of other European sites of the same time but the discovery of Morelladon beltrani shows a greater diversity. This species was characterized by a kind of sail on its back formed by the protruding spine covered with skin.
There are various theories about the possible function of that sail. Perhaps it was to favor the regulation of these animals’ body temperature. Perhaps it served to store fat during times when food was scarce. It’s also possible that it had a role in communication among members of a Morelladon herd. There were other dinosaurs with a back sail such as the Spinosaurus and Dimetrodon and discussions on its function (or functions) continue.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of 2016 in Morella they celebrated Morelladon beltrani’s fame with an exhibition. The paleontologists who studied the fossils of this dinosaur explained their findings to a crowd of locals and tourists. The administration promoted the exhibition, a good way to encourage tourism that is also useful to make paleontology interesting.
