''Arenysaurus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

hadrosaurid Hadrosaurids (), also hadrosaurs or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod fami ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

from the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

(66 million years ago), being one of the last non-avian dinosaurs and it went extinct during the

Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the K–T extinction, was the extinction event, mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth approximately 66 million years ago. The event cau ...

. It is known from a partial skull and skeleton found in the late Maastrichtian-age

Tremp Formation The Tremp Formation (, ), alternatively described as Tremp Group (), is a geological Formation (geology), formation in the comarca Pallars Jussà, Lleida Province, Lleida, Spain. The formation is restricted to the Tremp-Graus Basin, Tremp or T ...

of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

Mountains in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is ''A. ardevoli'', described in 2009 by Pereda-Suberbiola ''et al.'', a group of researchers from Spain. The genus name refers to

Arén Arén (), in Catalan: ''Areny de Noguera''As shown in thLegislative Decree 2/2006 of 27 December, of the Government of Aragon, by the revised text of the Law on Comarcal Demarcation of Aragon is approved. (), or in Aragonese: ''Arén de Noguera ...

, where it was found, and the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

honours

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

Lluís Ardèvol. ''Arenysaurus'' was a

lambeosaurine Lambeosauridae /ˌlæmbiəˈsɔːraɪniː/ (meaning 'lambe's lizards') is an extinct group of crested hadrosauroid dinosaurs. Description Size Uncertainty surrounds the size of lambeosaurs from the European continent. Hadrosaurs found there, a ...

, a member of the hadrosaurid subfamily with hollow and decorative cranial crests. It is one of the most complete and best dated ever found in the Late Cretaceous period.

Description

Life reconstruction of Arenysaurus ardevoli

''Arenysaurus'' was a medium-sized hadrosaur, measuring long and weighing . Its fossils were found in a small village (350 inhabitants) in the Aragonese Pyrenees called

(Areny in Catalan). The townspeople of Areny worked day and night helping the paleontologists. For this reason the paleontologists dedicated the dig site to Areny. The original bones can be seen in a museum that was built in the town. The museum also houses reconstructions and videos of the dig. An exact replica has been constructed of the bones from where the ''Arenysaurus'' fossils were found in the very position which they were found.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2303736 Lambeosaurinae Dinosaur genera Maastrichtian dinosaurs Tremp Formation Fossil taxa described in 2009 Dinosaurs of Spain

Description

See also

References