Vallibonavenatrix
"Vallibona huntress"
- Lived
- 126 to 121 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Spinosauridae
- Found in
- Spain
- Named by
- Malafaia et al. 2019
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
125 million years ago
Habitat
A coastal delta plain with rivers, estuaries and forests of conifers and ferns. Dinosaurs from the same formation include Iguanodon, Morelladon and Protathlitis.
Field notes
About Vallibonavenatrix
What it was like
Vallibonavenatrix was a spinosaur, a large meat eater with a long, narrow snout. It is known only from a partial skeleton, and it belonged to the same branch of the family as Baryonyx.
Like its relatives it probably hunted fish and other prey near water.
Its world
It lived about 126 to 121 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now eastern Spain. Its bones come from the Arcillas de Morella Formation, where it shared the land with the plant eaters Iguanodon, Mantellisaurus and Morelladon, the armored Polacanthus and another spinosaur, Protathlitis.
How it was found
Malafaia and colleagues named Vallibonavenatrix in 2019, from a single find.
Field gallery
More views of Vallibonavenatrix
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 2
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Vallibonavenatrix.
The evidence
The science behind Vallibonavenatrix
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial skeleton interpreted as one individual preserves a neck vertebra, back and tail vertebrae, the sacrum and parts of the pelvis.
- The back vertebrae have moderately tall spines, and the hip bones contain large internal air spaces.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing snout is restored by comparison with Baryonyx and Suchomimus, and the rear of the skull with Irritator.
- Missing neck and shoulder parts are restored by comparison with Baryonyx, with Suchomimus as a second comparison for the neck.
Still unknown
- The exact shape of its skull and limbs, and the full outline of its back.
- Its color and skin covering.
- Where it belongs within the spinosaur family; different analyses place it on different branches.
Discovery timeline
- 2019Named itMalafaia et al.
- 2021Family treeBarker et al.
- 2023Same rocksSantos-Cubedo et al.
- 2024Its worldRodríguez-Barreiro et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Vallibonavenatrix
Named it
Named a spinosaur from vertebrae and hip bones, including an unusually air-filled pelvis.
A new spinosaurid theropod (Dinosauria: Megalosauroidea) from the upper Barremian of Vallibona, Spain: Implications for spinosaurid diversity in the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. Cretaceous Research 106: 104221
Read the paper : A new spinosaurid theropod (Dinosauria: Megalosauroidea) from the upper Barremian of Vallibona, Spain: Implications for spinosaurid diversity in the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Compared spinosaur relationships and recovered different positions for Vallibonavenatrix depending on the analysis.
New spinosaurids from the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, UK) and the European origins of Spinosauridae. Scientific Reports 11
Read the paper : New spinosaurids from the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, UK) and the European origins of Spinosauridae (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Named Protathlitis from the same formation, adding another spinosaur to the local dinosaur fauna.
A new spinosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous of Cinctorres (Spain). Scientific Reports 13
Read the paper : A new spinosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous of Cinctorres (Spain) (opens in a new tab)Its world
Pollen and spores from the same formation revealed a coastal forest dominated by conifers and ferns.
Palynological reconstruction of the habitat and diet of Iguanodon bernissartensis in the Lower Cretaceous Morella Formation, NE Iberian Peninsula. Cretaceous Research 156: 105804
Read the paper : Palynological reconstruction of the habitat and diet of Iguanodon bernissartensis in the Lower Cretaceous Morella Formation, NE Iberian Peninsula (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Spinosauridae
Sources: Wikidata