In Depth
Although Demandasaurus is not represented by a lot of complete fossil material, it has been identified as a rebbachisaurid sauropod. As a rebbachisaurid, Demandasaurus was a form of diplodocid sauropod, and an offshoot of the Dicraeosaurinae. Demandasaurus would have course been related to the type genus of the Rebbachisauridae, Rebbachisaurus, but it has also been popularly considered to be related to the North African genus Nigersaurus.
The genus name Demandasaurus is a reference to the Sierra de la Demanda, a mountain sub-range of the Iberian Peninsula. The species name D. darwini is in honour of Charles Darwin, the progenitor of modern evolutionary theory.
Further Reading
- Demandasaurus darwini, a new rebbachisaurid sauropod from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula, Fidel Torcida Fern�ndez-Baldor, Jose Ignacio Canudo, Pedro Huerta, Diego Montero, Xabier Pereda Suberbiola & Leonardo Salgado - 2011.