Elena Cuesta

Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio

The podotheca is the structure of scales covering the foot in extant birds. It is usually assumed that this structure is present in the whole clade of theropod dinosaurs; however, the knowledge of the origin of the podotheca is based on scarce direct evidence and its point of emergence within Theropoda is ambiguous. Here we discuss the relatively c...

Concavenator corcovatus is a carcharodontosaurid dinosaur represented by an almost complete and articulated skeleton from the ‘Las Hoyas’ fossil site (Lower Cretaceous, Spain). The skull of Concavenator is almost complete, missing only the anteriormost and posteriormost regions. Here, a review of the cranial anatomy of Concavenator has been carried...

The isolated fossil remains of an allosauroid theropod from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation of Khorat, Thailand, are described in this study. Detailed observations support the establishment of a new allosauroid, Siamraptor suwati gen. et sp. nov. This new taxon is based on a composite cranial and postcranial skeleton comprising premaxilla...

Pelecanimimus polyodon was discovered in 1993 in the Spanish Barremian fossil site of Las Hoyas, being the first ornithomimosaur described from Europe. So far, there has been no detailed description of the holotype of Pelecanimimus, which is composed of the anterior-half of an articulated skeleton. Here we report a new, detailed, revised and more a...

Modern birds are typified by the presence of feathers, complex evolutionary innovations that were already widespread in the group of theropod dinosaurs (Maniraptoriformes) that include crown Aves. Squamous or scaly reptilian-like skin is, however, considered the plesiomorphic condition for theropods and dinosaurs more broadly. Here, we review the m...

Fossils from Konservat-Lagerstätten are usually exceptionally preserved, allowing to decipher key paleobiological aspects of the fossil record. An example is Pelecanimimus polyodon from the Early Cretaceous of Las Hoyas (Cuenca, Spain). The skull of the type specimen is almost complete and well preserved, and presents some characters like the prese...

Analysis of the percentage of conference contributions and participants in the congress committees that are women

Carcharodontosauria is a clade of theropods with a wide distribution in Laurasia and Gondwana from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous. However, carcharodontosaurs have been poorly known so far in the Early to mid-Cretaceous of Asia. For the first time, a definitive carcharodontosaurian theropod is established from a series of autapomorphies a...

Concavenator corcovatus is represented by a single and almost complete and articulated skeleton, founded in the Las Hoyas fossil site (Lower Cretaceous, Spain). Concavenator is a carcharodontosaurid, a monophyletic theropod group with a wide distribution around Laurasia and Gondwana. Here, we present a new diagnosis of this taxa based on its first...

Pelecanimimus polyodon Pérez-Moreno et al. (1994) was discovered in the Spanish fossil site of Las Hoyas (Barremian, Lower Cretaceous). The holotype of Pelecanimimus is composed by the anterior half of an articulated skeleton that preserves evidence of soft-tissues as a soft occipital crest and a gular structure. Pelecanimimus was defined as a basa...

Concavenator corcovatus is represented by a single and almost complete and articulated skeleton, MCCM-LH 6666, from the Las Hoyas fossil site (Lower Cretaceous, Spain). The axial skeleton only lacks some caudal vertebrae whereas presacral and sacral regions are totally articulated. Concavenator shows several unusual features associated to the axial...

The holotype of Concavenator corcovatus (MCCM-LH 6666) is a carcharodontosaurid skeleton from the Lower Cretaceous Las Hoyas fossil site in Spain. The appendicular skeleton of Concavenator is the most complete for any Carcharodontosauridae, with only a few regions absent. We describe the limb osteology of Concavenator and carry out an anatomical co...

The paleontological heritage of the fossil site of Las Hoyas (Early Cretaceous of Cuenca, Spain) is becoming a relevant part of the sociocultural identity of Castilla-La Mancha autonomous community in general, and of Cuenca province in particular. The most recent scientific advances, including several fossil findings that have had high scientific i...

Pelecanimimus polyodon was discovered in 1993 in the Spanish Barremian fossil site of Las Hoyas, being the first ornithomimosaurian described in Europe. So far, there is no detailed description of the holotype of Pelecanimimus that is composed by the anterior half of an articulated skeleton that preserves evidence of soft-tissues as a soft occipita...

The first expedition to Las Hoyas fossil site took place in 1985, led by José Luis Sanz. A decade later, Pelecanimimus polyodon was discovered, being the first non-avian dinosaur found in the site and the first ornithomimosaurian described in Europe. Ornithomimosauria is one of the major coelurosaurian groups, and a clade of highly specialized ther...

Fossils of juvenile Mesozoic birds provide insight into the early evolution of avian development, however such fossils are rare. The analysis of the ossification sequence in these early-branching birds has the potential to address important questions about their comparative developmental biology and to help understand their morphological evolution...

The holotype of Concavenator corcovatus (MCCM-LH 6666) is an almost complete, articulated skeleton from Las Hoyas fossil site (Lower Cretaceous, Spain). Originally, this specimen was proposed as a member of Carcharodontosauria, and its position was swapped within the group as basal Carcharodontosauridae or basal Carcharodontosauria (Neovenatoridae+...

El yacimiento paleontológico de Las Hoyas (Cuenca) ha ocupado reiteradamente un espacio en los medios autonómicos, nacionales e internacionales en los últimos años. Los descubrimientos y publicaciones científicas más recientes han hecho que la sociedad castellano-manchega redescubra su interés por la Paleontología. El acuerdo del 15 de marzo de 201...

The evidence on the morphology of the soft-tissues belonging to the autopod of nonavian dinosaur is restricted to some examples of exceptional preservation of integumentary structures and some well-preserved tracks. The holotype of Concavenator corcovatus (MCCM-LH 6666) is a complete and well-preserved carcharodontosaurid individual from Las Hoyas...

The record of theropod dinosaurs with long neural spines has expanded significantly in recent years, mostly within the spinosaurid and carcharodontosaurid clades. Concavenator corcovatus and Becklespinax altispinax are two representatives of long-spined theropods from the Lower Cretaceous of Western Europe. Both taxa show a comparable elongation of...

Concavenator corcovatus (Ortega et al., 2010) is a basal Carcharodontosauridae which presents two unusual features, such as elongation of the neuroapophyses of two presacral vertebrate and several small bumps on the ulna (Ortega et al., 2010). The holotype of Concavenator is a nearly complete and articulated skeleton (Fig. 1) of a medium size (six...