A revision of the theropod dinosaur Camarillasaurus cirugedae from the Early Cretaceous of Spain

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Europe was mainly covered by epicontinental seas during the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, so that terrestrial faunas were mainly restricted to several larger islands. Nevertheless, recent biogeographic analyses indicate that Europe represented an important "turntable" of terrestrial faunas between Asia, Africa, and North America at that time. One of the important islands in the Lower Cretaceous was Iberia, which included most of present day Spain and Portugal. Lower Cretaceous dinosaurs from Spain have become better known in the past 30 years, and especially ornithischian and sauropod dinosaurs have already yielded important data for our understanding of European dinosaur faunas of that time and their biogeographic relationships. However, theropod dinosaurs are much more poorly known; apart from the exceptionally preserved ornithomimosaur Pelecanimimus and the carcharodontosaur Concavenator from the laminated limestones of Las Hoyas, only one further taxon, Camarillasaurus cirugedae, has recently been described from the Barremian Camarillas Formation. This latter taxon is based on a fragmentary postcranial skeleton and was identified as a basal ceratosaur, with important implications for the evolution and diversity of this clade. However, a preliminary study of this material by the applicant highlighted several problems with the original interpretations of the remains and the identification as a ceratosaur. Furthermore, a visit to the site, from where the original materials were recovered by surface collection, demonstrated that there is potential to recover more material of this taxon. The objectives of the current project are thus a complete excavation of the type locality of Camarillasaurus and a revision of the anatomy and phylogenetic position of this taxon, based on both the original remains and newly discovered elements.This will lead to a better understanding of its importance for our knowledge of Early Cretaceous European dinosaur faunas and their biogeographic relationships.