Euro-dinosaur issue of Comptes Rendus Palevol

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Euro-dinosaur issue of Comptes Rendus Palevol
From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org
The new issue of Comptes Rendus Palevol is available as in-
press on-line articles and has not been officially 
published in paper form. However, it's an all Euro-
dinosaur issue and mentions a couple of new taxa: 
Dromaeosauroides and Lusotitan. Here are the abstracts 
with some additional info.

Godefroit, P. and F. Knoll (2003). Late Triassic dinosaur 
teeth from southern Belgium.
Isolated Dinosaur teeth have been discovered in the Upper 
Triassic locality of Habay-la-Vieille, in southern 
Belgium. Ornithischia are represented by three dental 
morphotypes; two of them closely resemble isolated teeth 
from the Middle or Upper Jurassic of Portugal and England. 
The presence of sauropods in the Upper Triassic of Europe 
is confirmed. Sauropods already had a wide geographical 
distribution during the Latest Triassic, as fossils have 
been discovered in South Africa, Thailand and western 
Europe. At Habay-la-Vieille, sauropods and prosauropods co-
existed at the end of the Triassic. Two dental morphotypes 
may tentatively be referred to as theropod dinosaurs. The 
study of isolated teeth indicates that dinosaurs were 
already well diversified in the Latest Triassic of western 
Europe. To cite this article: P. Godefroit, F. Knoll, C. 
R. Palevol 2 (2003) 3?11. 

Bonde, Niels and Per Christiansen (2003) New dinosaurs 
from Denmark
Only the Baltic island of Bornholm is likely ever to 
produce Danish dinosaurs, not the western mainland 
Denmark. The Mesozoic of Bornholm spans Late Triassic to 
Late Cretaceous, with some potentially dinosaur producing 
deposits from Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous being 
continental, lagoon, littoral or marginal marine. So far 
the only dinosaurs have been found in 2000 and 2002 in the 
basal Jydegaard Fm., carrying a `Purbeck-Wealden fauna' of 
the Earliest Cretaceous (Late Berriasian or Ryazanian) at 
Robbedale. Both are single tooth crowns; the first find, a 
21-mm crown, is a dromaeosaurine, Dromaeosauroides 
bornholmensis Christiansen & Bonde 2003, possibly the only 
true dromaeosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe. 
Estimated length of the animal is over 3 m. The second 
find is a somewhat unusual sauropod, most likely 
titanosaurian, the crown being only ca 15 mm high, with an 
unusual wear facet. Both teeth were derived from the 
lowermost 2-3 metres of the formation. Future expectations 
from this deposit are small ornithopods - and possibly 
mammals. To cite this article: N. Bonde, P. Christiansen, 
C. R. Palevol 2 (2003) 13-26. 

P. Christiansen and N. Bonde, The first dinosaur from 
Denmark. N. Jahrb. Geol. Paläontol. Abh. (2003).

Allain, R. and Xabier Pereda Suberbiola (2003). Dinosaurs 
of France
The French dinosaur record is one of the most extensive in 
Europe; it ranges stratigraphically from the Late Triassic 
to the Latest Cretaceous. All major clades of dinosaurs 
but marginocephalians are known. About 20 species are 
based on significant material; the theropods are the best 
represented. Most of these taxa have been described or 
revised in recent years. Important specimens have been 
discovered in the Late Triassic of eastern France, the 
Middle Jurassic of Normandy, and the Late Cretaceous of 
Provence and Languedoc. The ichnological record is good 
for the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic, and the Late 
Cretaceous egg sites are among the richest in the world. 
To cite this article: R. Allain, X.P. Suberbiola, Palevol 
2 (2003) 27-44. 

Dal Sasso, Cristiano (2003)  Dinosaurs of Italy 
In recent years, the idea that Italy was lacking dinosaurs 
has been denied by a striking series of finds. Several 
Triassic and Jurassic dinosaur tracksites were discovered 
in the mid-eastern Alps, in particular within the Dolomia 
Principale Fm. (Norian) and the Calcari Grigi Fm. 
(Hettangian to Pliensbachian), while thousands of 
Cretaceous (Santonian) prints came to light in Puglia 
(southern Italy). Three skeletal remains are known so far; 
they all belong to new, possibly endemic species that 
evolved during Sinemurian (Saltrio theropod), Albian 
(Scipionyx) and Santionian (Trieste hadrosaurs) times. 
Both footprints and bony remains come from coastal 
deposits and indicate a peculiar palaeobiogeographic 
condition. The model of Bahamas-like small islands is no 
longer consistent with the presence of large dinosaurs, 
which could only survive in definitely terrestrial 
ecosystems. As documented by the wide temporal range of 
the dinosaur-bearing Italian outcrops, the Mesozoic 
carbonate platforms of the Middle-Eastern Tethys might 
have emerged several times, and quite extensively. To cite 
this article: C. Dal Sasso, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003) 46-66. 

Jagt, John W. M.,  Eric W. A. Mulder, Anne S. Schulp, Rudi 
W. Dortangs  and René H. B. Fraaije (2003) Dinosaurs from 
the Maastrichtian-type area (southeastern Netherlands, 
northeastern Belgium).
In comparison to pre-1980 records of nonavian dinosaur 
remains from the Maastrichtian type strata, material 
collected during the past 20 years is both fairly common 
and diverse, consisting mostly of isolated cranial and 
post-cranial remains of hadrosaurids. With the exception 
of the type specimen of Megalosaurus bredai Seeley, a 
fragmentary right femur, no theropod material is 
represented in collections screened by us. In the present 
contribution, specimens recognised in various collections 
subsequent to our last tabulation (1999) are illustrated 
and briefly discussed. Although we are fully aware that 
the material is too limited to draw meaningful conclusions 
from, the specimens are here tied-in with a preliminary 
sequence-stratigraphic interpretation of the type 
Maastrichtian, which is currently being refined by 
strontium-isotope studies of coleoid cephalopods. To cite 
this article: J.W.M. Jagt, E.W.A. Mulder, A.S. Schulp, 
R.W. Dortangs, R.H.B. Fraaije, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003) 67-
76. 
Antunes, M. T. and Octávio Mateus (2003) Dinosaurs of 
Portugal. 
A synthesis on the state of art on dinosaur knowledge in 
Portugal is presented. The following genera have been 
recognized: Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus, Lourinhanosaurus, 
Allosaurus, cf. Compsognathus, Stokesosaurus, cf. 
Richardoestesia, cf. Archaeopteryx, Euronychodon, cf. 
Paronychodon, Dinheirosaurus, Lourinhasaurus, Lusotitan, 
cf. Pleurocoelus, Lusitanosaurus, Dacentrurus, Dracopelta, 
Phyllodon, Hypsilophodon, Alocodon, Trimucrodon, Draconyx, 
Iguanodon, and Taveirosaurus. Most are from Late Jurassic 
localities at the Lourinhã area and Guimarota. A new 
genus, Lusotitan, is here raised to include the Late 
Jurassic `Brachiosaurus' atalaiensis. Lower Cretaceous 
until Cenomanian material is scarce, except for dinosaur 
footprints. An interesting Late-Cretaceous, mostly small 
dinosaur association has been collected between Aveiro and 
Taveiro. To cite this article: M.T. Antunes, O. Mateus, C. 
R. Palevol 2 (2003) 77-95. 

Lusotitan n. gen.
Etymology: from Luso, an inhabitant of Lusitania, an 
ancient region that partly corresponds to Portugal; and 
titan, the Greek word for a mythological giant.
Type species are given hereafter. 
Lusotitan atalaiensis (Lapparent and Zbyszewski, 1957) 
(Sauropoda: Brachiosauridae) [21].
Synonyms: Brachiosaurus atalaiensis Lapparent and 
Zbyszewski, 1957. 
Horizon: Late Jurassic, Tithonian, Sobral Unit. 
Type locality: Peralta, near Atalaia (Municipality of 
Lourinhã), west-central Portugal. Lectotype: Brachiosaurus 
atalaiensis was based on several specimens, but the 
authors never assigned the holotype specimen.  Hence a 
partial skeleton from Atalaia and isolated vertebrae from 
Areia Branca, Porto Novo (Maceira), Alcobaça, Cambelas and 
Praia das Almoinhas could be regarded as a syntype. Later 
on, we designed here as lectotype the most complete 
specimen (MIGM 4798, 4801-10, 4938, 4944, 4950, 4952, 
4958, 4964-6, 4981-2, 4985, 8807, 8793-5; ), which is 
composed of 28 vertebrae (two anterior cervicals, one mid-
dorsal, two neural arches, two caudal anterior centra, one 
anterior caudal and an uninterrupted series of 18 caudal 
vertebrae), 12 chevrons, fragmented ribs, a scapula(?) 
distal epiphysis, two humeri, proximal left ulna, radius, 
partial ilium, left ischium, left pubis, left tibia, 
proximal end of right fibula and right astragalus. The 
bone previously identified as a metacarpal II seems to be 
a sacral rib. 
Diagnosis: a Brachiosaurid, according to the humerus and 
femur characters; mid-dorsals with very large pleurocoels; 
anterior caudals have well-developed transverse processes; 
midcaudal neural spine inclined almost vertically; 
posterior caudal centra has convex anterior face; mid- and 
posterior caudal centra are wider than high; slender 
pelvis; notch at the posterodorsal margin of ilium; 
postacetabular process of ilium bulky and without notch 
between this process and the ischial peduncle; obturator 
foramen of pubis closed; distal end of pubis 
anteroposteriorly expanded; tibia bowed laterally; 
proximal end of fibula is not rounded, but has an angular 
outline. 
Lusotitan is regarded as a Brachiosauridae due to the low 
neural spines, prominent deltopectoral crest of the 
humerus, elongated humerus, and the longitudinal axis of 
the ilium is upward.

Grigorescu, Dan (2003) Dinosaurs of Romania. 
The dinosaurs of Romania are exclusively Cretaceous. 
Lowermost Cretaceous dinosaurs come from a bauxite mine in 
the Bihor county (northwest Romania) that has yielded 
thousands of disarticulated bones. Uppermost Cretaceous 
dinosaurs have been known from the Ha eg Basin (south 
Transylvania) since the end of the 19th century, mostly as 
bone concentrations (`fossiliferous pockets'); more 
recently, nests with dinosaur eggs, including hatchlings, 
have been found in Hatzeg. Although separated by a ca 60 
Myr gap, the two dinosaur faunas from Romania share some 
common features: predominance of ornithopods, absence of 
large theropods (substituted in the case of the 
Maastrichtian Hatzeg assemblage by several small 
theropods), and, in general, the small size of the 
individuals (dwarfism). These aspects seem to be explained 
by the isolated island habitat of both assemblages. To 
cite this article: D. Grigorescu, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003) 
97-101. 


Meyer, C. A. and B. Thüring (2003) Dinosaurs of 
Switzerland. 
Until 1960, the record of dinosaurs was rather poor in 
Switzerland. Between 1960 and 1980, several new localities 
with plateosaurid remains as well as prosauropod and 
theropod tracks were found in Late Triassic sabkha and 
floodplain environments. The discovery of large surfaces 
with sauropod tracks in the Late Jurassic of the Jura 
Mountains in 1987 triggered a stream of new data. More 
than 20 new localities with tracks from both sauropod and 
theropod dinosaurs in different stratigraphic levels have 
been found since then. The latest discoveries include 
trackways of iguanodontids from the Early Cretaceous of 
the central Swiss Alps and a large Late Jurassic surface 
with trackways of small sauropods in the northernmost part 
of the Jura Mountains. The best skeletal record comes from 
the Late Triassic, with scattered data from the Late 
Jurassic. The track and trackway record appears to be best 
in the Late Jurassic. To cite this article: C.A. Meyer, B. 
Thüring, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003) 103-117. 




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