Demandasaurus
Named after the Sierra de la Demanda mountain range in Burgos Province, Spain, where the fossils were collected, + Greek sauros ('lizard'), meaning 'Demanda lizard'.
Demandasaurus is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur from early Cretaceous (late Barremian–early Aptian stage) deposits of Spain. Demandasaurus is known from an incomplete but associated skeleton that includes cranial and postcranial remains. It was collected from the Castrillo de la Reina Formation in Burgos Province. It was first named by Fidel Torcida Fernández-Baldor, José Ignacio Canudo, Pedro Huerta, Diego Montero, Xabier Pereda Suberbiola, and Leonardo Salgado in 2011, and the type species is Demandasaurus darwini.
Diagnosis
- Teeth ornamented with longitudinal crests on labial (4-5) and lingual (up to 3) faces of the crown, and bearing mesial and distal carinae without denticles
- Posterior cervical vertebrae have an infraprezygapophyseal chamber containing a forked vertical accessory lamina, absent in other sauropods
- Posterior cervical vertebrae have a rhombic accessory structure where the centroprezygapophyseal, prezygadiapophyseal, and spinoprezygapophyseal laminae connect dorsally to the prezygapophyses
- Centroprezygapophyseal laminae are divided (forked) in both cervical and dorsal vertebrae
- Mid-dorsal vertebrae bear two large neural arch pneumatic foramina passing entirely through the neural arch anteroposteriorly, not previously described in sauropods
- Anterior caudal transverse processes have two large deep pneumatic cavities divided by accessory laminae, combined with a broad laminar complex associated with the diapophysis
Species
Demandasaurus darwini Torcida Fernández-Baldor et al., 2011
Type species
Named for Charles Darwin, the famous naturalist.
- Holotype
- MDS-RVII,2, MDS-RVII,3, MDS-RVII,4, MDS-RVII,9, MDS-RVII,10, MDS-RVII,11, MDS-RVII,12, MDS-RVII,14, MDS-RVII,15, MDS-RVII,16, MDS-RVII,18, MDS-RVII,19, MDS-RVII,23, MDS-RVII,99, MDS-RVII,101, MDS-RVII,216, MDS-RVII,217, MDS-RVII,218, MDS-RVII,231, MDS-RVII,232, MDS-RVII,242, MDS-RVII,275, MDS-RVII,301, MDS-RVII,332, MDS-RVII,340, MDS-RVII,364, MDS-RVII,365, MDS-RVII,368, MDS-RVII,379, MDS-RVII,382, MDS-RVII,436, MDS-RVII,437, MDS-RVII,438, MDS-RVII,440, MDS-RVII,441, MDS-RVII,443, MDS-RVII,458, MDS-RVII,466, MDS-RVII,470, MDS-RVII,587, MDS-RVII,589, MDS-RVII,590, MDS-RVII,591, MDS-RVII,592, MDS-RVII,594, MDS-RVII,600, MDS-RVII,602, MDS-RVII,605, MDS-RVII,606, MDS-RVII,609, MDS-RVII,610, MDS-RVII,611, MDS-RVII,629, MDS-RVII,796, MDS-RVII,797, MDS-RVII,798, MDS-RVII,805, MDS-RVII,806, MDS-RVII,811 , Museo de Dinosaurios de Salas de los Infantes
- Material
- Partial skeleton: right and left premaxillae, left dentary, six isolated teeth, three cervical vertebrae, five cervical ribs, two dorsal vertebrae, nine dorsal ribs, nineteen caudal vertebrae, nine haemal arches, left and right ischia, left femur
- Horizon
- upper Castrillo de la Reina Formation, Barremian–Aptian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–113.2 million years ago
- Locality
- Tenadas de los Vallejos II, Burgos, Spain
References
- Torcida Fernández-Baldor, F.; Canudo, J. I.; Huerta, P.; Montero, D.; Pereda-Suberbiola, X.; Salgado, L. (2011). Demandasaurus darwini, a new rebbachisaurid sauropod from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 56(3): 535-552. torcidafernández-baldor2011a
-
Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.
Source of the body length and mass estimates.
paul2024a -
Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.
Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.
jones2026b