Hadrosaur Growth and New Material from Spain

[LordTrilobite]

A new study got published on some new hadrosaur material from Spain.

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120303645?via%3Dihub
 

Abstract

Quote

Pararhabdodon isonensis was the first species of lambeosaurine hadrosaurid described in Europe and is one of the last non-avian dinosaurs that lived before the K-Pg extinction. Yet, its relationship with other Ibero-Armorican lambeosaurines has remained controversial due to the lack of overlapping diagnostic material among taxa. Newfound hindlimb materials reveal a unique character for the species that reinforces its distinction from other European lambeosaurines and its postulated close relationship with Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus. P. isonensis becomes restricted to the upper Maastrichtian Talarn Formation.

Our osteohistological analysis indicates that Pararhabdodon isonensis probably reached adult body sizes comparable to those of other Ibero-Armorican lambeosaurines and nearing the body sizes of North American and Asian taxa. Its histomorphology indicates a relatively low growth rate, suggesting the achievement of larger body sizes over longer time periods, perhaps facilitated by a relatively low predation pressure. Unlike coeval dinosaurian clades of the Late Cretaceous European Archipelago, P. isonensis and at least some of the other Ibero-Armorican lambeosaurines that reached similarly large body sizes, like Adynomosaurus arcanus, represent exceptions to the ‘island rule’.

 

 

It's paywalled sadly.

 

[Troodon]

Thanks.  Just FYI I was able to get access to the paper by going to the outline.  I was able to open Multimedia component and to my surprise there was the paper.   Couldn't download it but have hi res photos of the illustrations.   Worked several times but not always.

[Pixpaleosky]

Thank you for sharing this information

[PaleoNoel]

Thanks for posting! Interesting to learn more about these archipelagic hadrosaurs, makes me wonder how frequently these animals swam, floated or drifted between landmasses. Many of those straits and seaways seem impossible to cross, but I guess the resilience (or luck) of these animals know no bounds.

[Pixpaleosky]

Actually there were a lot of exchanges between the continents.

A map represents a moment T, but during millions and millions of years the sea could go up and down, opening terrestrial ways or at least reducing the distances to cross from island to island.

[Troodon]

1 hour ago, PaleoNoel said:

Thanks for posting! Interesting to learn more about these archipelagic hadrosaurs, makes me wonder how frequently these animals swam, floated or drifted between landmasses. Many of those straits and seaways seem impossible to cross, but I guess the resilience (or luck) of these animals know no bounds.

An article I posted recently with the publication of the Moroccan hadrosaur was Nick Longrich blog on this subject. 

 

https://www.nicklongrich.com/blog/ajnabia-odysseus-the-first-duckbill-dinosaur-from-africa

[PaleoNoel]

2 hours ago, Pixpaleosky said:

Actually there were a lot of exchanges between the continents.

A map represents a moment T, but during millions and millions of years the sea could go up and down, opening terrestrial ways or at least reducing the distances to cross from island to island.

I know there were exchanges over the many millions of years, but like the above mentioned Longrich article mentioned, some of those areas were cut off from one another by deep ocean for long periods of before the hadrosaurs were present and we are currently lacking in evidence for land bridges. If I had to guess, the sea level variation was a key contributor to their ability to cross those distances and make it to the other side alive. 

51 minutes ago, Troodon said:

An article I posted recently with the publication of the Moroccan hadrosaur was Nick Longrich blog on this subject. 

https://www.nicklongrich.com/blog/ajnabia-odysseus-the-first-duckbill-dinosaur-from-africa

It was certainly an interesting read, I appreciated the perspective he gave, especially comparing hadrosaur finds from North America to Africa.