Stegosaurus Discovered in Portugal

[Guy Leahy <xrciseguy@sbcglobal.net>]

1: Naturwissenschaften. 2006 Dec 23 
New evidence of shared dinosaur across Upper Jurassic
Proto-North Atlantic: Stegosaurus from Portugal.
Escaso F, Ortega F, Dantas P, Malafaia E, Pimentel NL,
Pereda-Suberbiola X, Sanz JL, Kullberg JC, Kullberg
MC, Barriga F. 
Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biologia,
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049,
Madrid, Spain.

More than one century after its original description
by Marsh in 1877, we report in this paper the first
uncontroversial evidence of a member of the genus
Stegosaurus out of North America. The specimen
consists of a partial skeleton from the Upper Jurassic
of Portugal, herein considered as Stegosaurus cf.
ungulatus. The presence of this plated dinosaur in the
upper Kimmeridgian-lower Tithonian Portuguese record
and synchronic levels of the Morrison Formation of
North America reinforces previous hypothesis of a
close relationship between these two areas during the
Late Jurassic. This relationship is also supported by
geotectonic evidences indicating high probability of
an episodic corridor between the Newfoundland and
Iberian landmasses. Together, Portuguese Stegosaurus
discovery and geotectonic inferences could provide a
scenario with episodical faunal contact among North
Atlantic landmasses during the uppermost
Kimmeridgian-lowermost Tithonian (ca. 148-153 Ma ago).