Open Paleo

Oblitosaurus

Sánchez-Fenollosa et al., 2023 ob-LEE-tow-SOR-us

From Latin 'oblitus' (forgotten or obsolete) and Greek 'sauros' (lizard); meaning 'forgotten lizard', referring to how its fossils were long overlooked.

154.8–143.1 million years ago Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Oblitosaurus is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Villar del Arzobispo Formation of Spain. The type species is Oblitosaurus bunnueli.

Under dispute

The position of Oblitosaurus bunnueli is unresolved. Its describers recovered it as the basalmost member of Ankylopollexia together with Draconyx loureiroi (Sánchez-Fenollosa and colleagues, 2023), and Dieudonné and colleagues (2026) also recover it among the early-diverging ankylopollexians, as sister to Cumnoria prestwichii. Fonseca and colleagues (2024) recover it with Draconyx loureiroi on the stem of Ankylopollexia under implied weighting, but in a polytomy at the base of Ankylopollexia under equal weights, while Rotatori and colleagues (2026) place it more deeply, within Styracosterna. It is placed at Dryomorpha incertae sedis, the least inclusive clade common to every hypothesis.

Diagnosis

  1. Femur with wide, robust lesser trochanter that almost covers lateral surface of greater trochanter
  2. Femur with sub-circular distal medial condyle
  3. Femur with pronounced, narrow lateromedial ridge on ventral surface
  4. Tibia with internal condyle projected dorsally above dorsal margin of cnemial crest
  5. Metatarsal IV with sub-triangular or ellipsoid proximal articulation facet

Species

Oblitosaurus bunnueli Sánchez-Fenollosa et al., 2023

Type species

Named for Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel.

Holotype
CPT-1440, CPT-1444, MAP-8290, MAP-8291, MAP-8292, MAP-8293, MAP-8294, MAP-8295, MAP-8296, MAP-8297, MAP-8298, MAP-8299 , Museo de la Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis
Material
Partial skeleton.
Horizon
Villar del Arzobispo Formation, Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic , 154.8–143.1 million years ago
Locality
Barrihonda-El Humero, RD-10, Teruel, Spain

References

  1. Sánchez-Fenollosa, S.; Verdú, F. J.; Cobos, A. (2023). The largest ornithopod (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Jurassic of Europe sheds light on the evolutionary history of basal ankylopollexians. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 199(4): 1013-1033. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad076

    Erects the genus and recovers it as the basalmost ankylopollexian together with Draconyx loureiroi.

    sánchez-fenollosa2023a
  2. Fonseca, A. O.; Reid, I. J.; Venner, A.; Duncan, R. J.; Garcia, M. S.; Müller, R. T. (2024). A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis on early ornithischian evolution. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 22: 2346577. doi:10.1080/14772019.2024.2346577

    Recovers Oblitosaurus with Draconyx loureiroi outside Ankylopollexia under implied weighting, and in a polytomy at the base of Ankylopollexia under equal weights without pruning.

    fonseca2024a
  3. Dieudonné, P.; Becerra, M. G.; Zanesco, T.; Tortosa, T.; Cruzado-Caballero, P.; Stein, K.; Torcida Fernández-Baldor, F. (2026). Foskeia pelendonum, a new rhabdodontomorph from the Lower Cretaceous of Salas de los Infantes (Burgos Province, Spain), and a new phylogeny of ornithischian dinosaurs. Papers in Palaeontology 12(1). Wiley. doi:10.1002/spp2.70057

    Recovers Oblitosaurus and Cumnoria as sister taxa among the early-diverging ankylopollexians.

    dieudonné2026a
  4. Rotatori, F. M.; Chiarenza, A. A.; Fanti, F.; Moreno-Azanza, M. (2026). The early origin of Iguanodontia: new insights into the macroevolution, diversity and biogeography of the clade. Palaeontology 69(2): e70057. doi:10.1111/pala.70057

    Recovers Oblitosaurus within Styracosterna under implied weighting and Bayesian inference; the equal-weighting strict consensus leaves it in a polytomy at the base of Ankylopollexia.

    rotatori2026a
  5. Royo-Torres, R.; Cobos, A.; Alcalá, L. (2006). A Giant European Dinosaur and a New Sauropod Clade. Science 314(5807): 1925-1927. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). doi:10.1126/science.1132885

    Prints the grid reference for the RD-10 site, which this holotype shares with the Turiasaurus type.

    royo-torres2006a