Morelladon: Research Database
Styracosterna (Iguanodontia) · Early Cretaceous (~130-125 MYA) · Europe — Spain (Castilla-La Mancha, Escullos Formation)
Research Note: Morelladon was a styracosternan iguanodontian from the Early Cretaceous of Spain — one of the few known iguanodontians from the Early Cretaceous of Europe and an important taxon for understanding ornithischian diversity and biogeography in the Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Santos-Cubedo et al. 2022: Morelladon and a new styracosternan from the Cretaceous of Spain
Santos-Cubedo et al. 2022 provide the original description and comprehensive data on Morelladon from the Early Cretaceous of Spain, establishing it as a styracosternan iguanodontian and documenting ornithischian diversity in the Cretaceous of Europe
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Confirmed | A | 2022 | Fossil | Santos-Cubedo et al., PLoS ONE | Taxonomy |
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Medrano-Aguado et al. 2022: Morelladon and new data on iguanodontian diversity in the Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula
Medrano-Aguado et al. 2022 provide additional data on Morelladon and styracosternan diversity in the Cretaceous of Europe, further contextualising its significance within Styracosterna
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Confirmed | B | 2022 | Fossil | Medrano-Aguado et al., Cretaceous Research | Diversity |
Active Debate: Iguanodontian Evolution and Cretaceous European Biogeography
Whether Morelladon represents a distinct lineage of styracosternans endemic to Europe or part of a broader Laurasian fauna is debated. The biogeographic history of iguanodontians in the Cretaceous of Europe — and their relationship to those of Asia and North America — is key to understanding ornithischian evolution.
The diversity of styracosternans in the Early Cretaceous of Europe — and the ecological roles they occupied — is still being understood.
What We Still Do Not Know About Morelladon
- Complete skeletal morphology: Partial specimen known.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Diet: Likely herbivorous.
- Color: Unknown.
In Depth
First discovered in 2013, and named in 2015, Morelladon made headlines towards the end of 2015 as a rare example of a sailbacked dinosaur. Though dubbed a sailback, this sail was likely more like a hump as the neural spines of the vertebrae that supported it were very robust. These are way beyond what would be needed to support a thin skin sail, and so Morelladon probably had a hump that ran down the length of much of the body. This hump was possibly for fat storage that may have allowed Morelladon to survive times of drought, though it may have also served a display purpose, possibly for recognising members of the same species or even attracting a mate.
Morelladon is not the first large ornithopod to have had a hump like sail growing on its back. Another dinosaur called Ouranosaurusis from Africa also known to have had such a feature, while possibly living slightly later in the early Cretaceous. This may help portray a picture of Europe and North Africa having similar ecosystems during the early Cretaceous given that a pattern of similar dinosaurs in both areas is emerging. Aside from hump backed ornithopods, these include similar types of sauropod dinosaurs, stegosaurs to even spinosaurid dinosaurs with genera such as Baryonyx known from Western Europe, to Suchomimus in North Africa.
Further Reading
- A New Sail-Backed Styracosternan (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Morella, Spain. - PLoS ONE 10 (12): e0144167. - Jos� Miguel Gasulla, Fernando Escaso, Iv�n Narv�ez, Francisco Ortega & Jos� Luis Sanz - 2015.
