Taphonomy and palaeohistology of ornithischian dinosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous bonebed of La Cantalera (Teruel, Spain)

Abstract

The fossiliferous site of La Cantalera-1 (Teruel, Spain) has to date provided remains of more than 30 vertebrate taxa, including dinosaurs, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, mammals, lizards, turtles, lissamphibians and teleosteans. Located in the lower part of the Blesa Formation (lower Barremian), it is one of the richest vertebrate-bearing deposits from the Lower Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. In this work, taphonomic and palaeohistological studies are carried out on the basis of ornithischian (Ornithopoda and Ankylosauria) dinosaur samples in order to assess the diagenetic processes, to characterize the histological microstructures and, if possible, to make palaeobiological inferences about the state of maturation of the individuals. A variety of techniques are used in the taphonomic study, including scanning