On the presence of plesiosaurs in the Blesa Formation (Barremian) in Teruel (Spain)

摘要

We describe the first plesiosaurian remains of Barremian age from the Iberian Peninsula. The fossils come from several sites in the Blesa Formation in Teruel (Spain). The recovered material consists of two teeth and nine vertebrae (four cervical, one pectoral, one dorsal, one sacral and two caudal), collected from levels associated with oyster packstone, related to coastal environments. These fossils show the presence of at least one plesiosaurian taxon in the Barremian Iberian coasts. They are the oldest remains described for the Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. Early Cretaceous plesiosaurs are scarce worldwide. Therefore this discovery is of great interest in establishing the Blesa Formation as one of the few sites where Barremian plesiosaur fossils have been found.