Camarillasaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Camarillasaurus |
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| Vertebra and rib fossils | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Spinosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Spinosaurinae (?) |
| Genus: | †Camarillasaurus Sánchez-Hernández & Benton, 2014 |
| Type species | |
| †Camarillasaurus cirugedae Sánchez-Hernández & Benton, 2014
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Camarillasaurus (say "Kah-mah-ree-yah-SAWR-us") is a type of dinosaur that lived a long, long time ago during the Early Cretaceous period. Its name means "Camarillas lizard," because its fossils were found near a place called Camarillas in northeastern Spain. This dinosaur was first described in 2014. At first, scientists thought it was a type of ceratosaur, but later, in 2021, they realized it was actually a spinosaurid. Spinosaurids are a group of dinosaurs known for their long snouts and sometimes sails on their backs, like the famous Spinosaurus.
How We Learned About Camarillasaurus
The fossils of Camarillasaurus were found in a rock layer called the Camarillas Formation. This formation is in Spain. The main type of Camarillasaurus is called Camarillasaurus cirugedae.
Two palaeontologists, Bárbara Sánchez-Hernández and Michael J. Benton, first described this dinosaur in 2014. They thought it was an early type of ceratosaur. Ceratosaurs were a group of meat-eating dinosaurs, like Ceratosaurus.
However, other scientists later looked more closely at the fossils. In 2019, palaeontologist Oliver Rauhut and his team suggested something different. They thought Camarillasaurus was actually a spinosaurid. This idea was based on new fossils found at the same site. It was also based on the shape of its tail bones.
Another scientist, Adun Samathi, agreed with this idea in his research. In 2021, his work was officially published. He noted that Camarillasaurus had features similar to other spinosaurids. Some of these features were like those found in spinosaur fossils from Thailand.
Camarillasaurus is one of four spinosaurid dinosaurs found in the Iberian Peninsula (which includes Spain and Portugal). The other three are Vallibonavenatrix, Protathlitis, and Iberospinus. This shows that spinosaurids were quite common in this area long ago.
See also
In Spanish: Camarillasaurus cirugedae para niños
