Francisco Ortega

National University of Distance Education | UNED · Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos

Ontogenetic series of different organisms are occasionally found in the fossil record, and to understand these, palaeontologists rely on the studies produced by neontological disciplines on the organisms most closely related to the fossil organisms being studied. In the specific case of crocodylians, recent studies have examined the ontogenetic mor...

El icnogénero Linichnus se define como una estructura de bioerosión superficial formada por uno o varios surcos alargados, con sección transversal en forma de U o de V, y bordes simples o aserrados. La morfología de estos bordes define las dos icnoespecies conocidas: L. serratus (aserrados) y L. bromleyi (simples). El registro de Linichnus está pri...

Los yacimientos de la Cuenca del Duero han proporcionado un rico y singular registro fósil de Crocodyliformes, entre los que se han identificado, hasta el momento, representantes de tres grupos de cocodrilos modernos: Duerosuchus piscator (Planocraniidae), Diplocynodon sp. (Alligatoroidea) y Asiatosuchus oenotriensis (Crocodyloidea). La serie tipo...

Tradicionalmente, la variabilidad morfológica en el esqueleto apendicular de los cocodrilos modernos (Eusuchia) ha recibido escasa atención en la literatura científica, especialmente desde un punto de vista macroevolutivo. Los análisis previos de la morfología del fémur de grupos basales de Eusuchia como Allodaposuchidae utilizando morfometría trad...

Notosuchian crocodyliforms have been known from the European Eocene since the 1960s. However, these findings generally corresponded to fragmentary remains collected in Portugal, Spain, France and Germany, so that their phylogenetic position was controversial. New remains from the Corrales del Vino site (Zamora, Spain), collected from levels of the...

En el entorno del municipio de Morella (Castellón) existen abundantes afloramientos de la Formación Arcillas de Morella (Barremiense superior; Cretácico Inferior) en los que se han localizado numerosos yacimientos con fósiles de vertebrados mesozoicos, especialmente de dinosaurios. Hasta el momento, el importante registro de dinosaurios descubierto...

Los ornitópodos estiracosternos son el grupo de dinosaurios herbívoros más diverso de los representados en el registro del Cretácico Inferior ibérico, reconociéndose al menos seis especies. En los sedimentos del Barremiense superior de la Formación Arcillas de Morella, se ha identificado una forma exclusiva, Morelladon beltrani, y un estiracosterno...

The Duero Basin (northwestern Spain) shows a relevant record of Eocene vertebrate fossils, especially considering the turtle remains. Several lineages of turtles are recognized there, highlightedboth for their abundance and diversity the podocnemidids, with several forms attributable to the genus Neochelys. The Lutetian (middle Eocene) Neochelys za...

Lo Hueco fossil site (Fuentes, Cuenca) was discovered in the upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian levels of the Villalba de la Sierra Formation, at the southwestern branch of the Iberian Ranges. The site is a multitaxic bonebed that has yielded over 10,000 fossils, with nearly half of them being titanosaurs, including several partial skeletons, most...

A new lithostrotian titanosaur, Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a single partial skeleton from the late Campanian-early Maastrichtian fossil-site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain). This new taxon is supported by an exclusive combination of characters that highlights strong convergences with members of the South American...

Simosauridae is an eosauropterygian clade known by two representatives: Simo-saurus gaillardoti, from the Ladinian (Middle Triassic) of France and Germany, and Paludidraco multidentatus, from the Carnian (Upper Triassic) of Spain. However, the fossil record of this clade is relatively abundant, being mostly represented by isolated cranial and postc...

The Eocene record of vertebrates from the Duero Basin (northwestern Spain) is abundant and diverse. Several clades of turtles are recognized, highlighting, for its abundance and diversity, the podocnemidids. Two species of the European genus Neochelys have been identified. The first species described was Neochelys salmanticensis, exclusive from the...

The sauropod hind limb was the main support that allowed their gigantic body masses and a wide range of dynamic stability adaptations. It was closely related to the position of the centre of masses of their multi-ton barrel-shaped bodies, and experienced one of the most noticeable posture changes during macronarian evolution. Deeply branched macron...

The sauropod hind limb was the main support that allowed their gigantic body masses and a wide range of dynamic stability adaptations. It was closely related to the position of the centre of masses of their multi-ton barrel-shaped bodies, and experienced one of the most noticeable posture changes during macronarian evolution. Deeply branched macron...

Testudines are one of the best‐represented taxonomic groups among the Paleogene taxa of the Duero Basin (Castile and Leon Autonomous Community, central Spain). Among them, Neochelys (Podocnemidide) and Allaeochelys (Carettochelyidae) are most abundant, allowing the population to be assessed for osteological anomalies. The abundance of postcranial r...

Management of Natural History collections, particularly paleontological collections, is usually structured around specimens. However, it might not be feasible when the collections are incorporated from sources where the whole cycle of specimen collection is unknown, making it hard to determine what fossils belong to a single specimen and if these s...

The recent discovery of iguanodontid remains from the new Palau-3 site in the Lower Cretaceous Morella Formation is the most complete non-articulated skeleton of Iguanodon bernissartensis on the NE Iberian Peninsula. To elucidate the paleoenvironment of the Palau-3 site, a palynological analysis was carried out on matrix samples collected from arou...

El auge de la ingeniería genética y la biotecnología genera la necesidad de comprender los conceptos y procesos científicos necesarios que permitan a la ciudadanía, y más concretamente el alumnado de titulaciones afines a las ciencias biológicas, adquirir criterios para tomar decisiones sobre las ventajas o desventajas de su uso. La enseñanza y el...

The eusuchian crocodyliforms recorded in the Eocene levels of the Spanish Duero Basin belong to three lineages: Planocraniidae, with the species Duerosuchus piscator ; Alligatoroidea, represented by several specimens of the genus Diplocynodon ; and Crocodyloidea, which includes several specimens traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus . The genus...

One of the most diverse turtle lineages in the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous record of Europe is that of the stem turtles Pleurosternidae (Paracryptodira), also distributed in North America. The oldest European representative of this lineage is the Portuguese Selenemys lusitanica , known from upper Kimmeridgian to lower Tithonian levels (Late...

Malafaia, E., Mocho, P., Escaso, F., Narvaéz, I., and Ortega, F. 2024. Taxonomic and stratigraphic update of the material historically attributed to Megalosaurus from Portugal. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 69 (2): 127–171. https://doi.org/10.4202/app.01113.2023

La icnología y la tafonomía son disciplinas que a menudo están estrechamente relacionadas entre sí. En el caso particular del estudio del registro icnológico preservado en tejido óseo, esta relación se torna muy evidente. Concretamente, se muestra como una herramienta clave a la hora de entender e interpretar los diferentes procesos que ha podido s...

The eusuchian crocodyliforms recorded in the Eocene of the Duero Basin belong to three lineages: Planocraniidae, with the species Duerosuchus piscator; Alligatoroidea, represented by the genus Diplocynodon; and Crocodyloidea, which includes several specimens traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus. Since its establishment in 1940, the genus Asiato...

La Cantera del Mas de la Parreta (Morella, Castellón) ha proporcionado una abundante colección de restos fósiles asignables a dinosaurios ornitópodos estiracosternos, procedentes de más de una decena de yacimientos, y entre los que destaca el hallazgo de varios esqueletos parciales. Los niveles sedimentarios explotados en la cantera pertenecen a la...

In vertebrates, it is fairly common to find a correlation between diet and cranial shape, either in the entire cranial structure or in a specific region of the skull, especially in those with specialised diets. In the case of crocodyliforms, numerous studies have linked cranial shape to diet category, but this relationship was originally reduced to...

Uno de los lugares paleontológicos más singulares de la Comunidad Valenciana es la Cantera del Mas de la Parreta de Morella. En esta explotación minera, gestionada por la empresa Arcillas Vega del Moll entre los años 2000 a 2018, se han localizado 19 yacimientos con más de 5.000 restos fósiles de vertebrados mesozoicos. En estos yacimientos se han...

The sauropod hind limb is the main support that allowed their gigantic body masses and a wide range of dynamic stability adaptations. It is closely related with the position of the centre of masses of their multi-toned barrel-shaped bodies, and experiences one of the most noticeable posture changes along macronarian evolution. Deeply-branched macro...

Simarro, Á., Malafaia, E., Ortega, F. 2023. Geometric morphometric analysis of an Upper Jurassic allosaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) femur from Pombal (Portugal). Ros-Franch, S., Paredes-Aliaga, M. V., Martínez-Pérez, C. (Eds.). Valencia, 2023. p. 222

A new somphospondylan titanosauriform from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain is described from the remains found at the Sant Antoni de la Vespa site (upper Barremian Arcillas de Morella Formation) located in Morella. Garumbatitan morellensis gen. et sp. nov. is diagnosed by 11 autapomorphies and eight local autapomorphies; and our phylogenetic analyses...

Although assessing the approximate ontogenetic stage of fossil crocodyliforms is sometimes straightforward when dealing with complete skulls, this can become challenging when dealing with highly fragmentary specimens. In such cases, the specimen may be a juvenile or subadult individual rather than an adult and, if unrecognized, immature individuals...

Malafaia, E.; Coria, R.A.; Escaso, F.; Ortega, F. 2023. Abelisaurid teeth from the Upper Cretaceous of Poyos (Guadalajara, Spain). In: Alba, D.M.; Marigó, J.; Nacarino-Meneses, C.; Villa, A. (Eds.) Palaeovertebrata, Special Volume 1-23, p. 155. 20th EAVP Conference. Sabadell, Spain.

Malafaia, E.; Mocho, P.; Escaso, F.; Ortega, F. 2023. O registo fóssil de vertebrados da região de Pombal: contributo para o conhecimento das faunas do Jurássico Superior da Bacia Lusitaniana. In: Lopes, F.C.; Dinis, P.A.; Duarte, L.V.; Cunha, P.P. (Eds). Livro de Resumos XI CNG 2023, 95-96.

Mocho, P.; Malafaia, E.; Escaso, F.; Gasulla, J.M.; Marcos-Fernández, F.; Narváez, I.; Orfão, J.; Páramo, A.; Vidal, D.; Ortega, F. 2023. The giant sauropod dinosaurs of Pombal: new discoveries. In: Lopes, F.C.; Dinis, P.A.; Duarte, L.V.; Cunha, P.P. (Eds). Livro de Resumos XI CNG 2023, 95-96.

A preliminary anatomical description of the pelvic elements preserved in the holotype of P. multidentatus and their comparison with those of its sister taxon and other sauropterygians is presented here.

Sauropodomorpha is one of the main clades of non-avian dinosaurs with diverse and widespread lineages. As large herbivores with a near-global distribution, they played an important ecological role in most terrestrial ecosystems. The relatively abundant sauropodomorph fossil record and their global distribution make them particularly suited to explo...

Titanosauria were the main lineage of sauropods during the Late Cretaceous, reaching a cosmopolitan distribution. In Europe, this clade is represented by many occurrences, especially in the Ibero-Armorican domain, with eight described species. However, a higher diversity has been hypothesized by many authors. The evolutionary history of these taxa...

Gasulla, J.M.; Escaso, F.; Malafaia, E.; Mocho, P.; Narváez, I.; Ortega, F. 2023. A new styracosternan-bearing assemblage from the Arcillas de Morella Formation in Morella (Spain). In: Alba, D.M.; Marigó, J.; Nacarino-Meneses, C.; Villa, A. (Eds.) Palaeovertebrata, Special Volume 1-23, p. 104. 20th EAVP Conference. Sabadell, Spain.

The macrovertebrate fossil collections are one of the most important tools for studying past ecosystems. However, the conservation of the fossil material is sometimes conditioned by the environmental conditions surrounding the fossil specimen during its storage. The control of these factors can be a complex task.In the current study, we propose an...

The freshwater pleurodiran turtle Neochelys is the best-represented member of Podocnemididae in the European record, being known by eight Eocene species. The youngest of them is the Bartonian (middle Eocene) Neochelys salmanticensis, from the Duero Basin (Salamanca Province, Central Spain). It corresponds to the largest representative known for thi...

The Hyaenodonta were the most diverse carnivorous mammals in the European Eocene and were classically divided into three subfamilies: Sinopaninae, Arfianinae, and Proviverrinae, with this latter being the most successful of the three, as it exhibited a much larger geographic and temporal range. This classification is currently abandoned, as cladist...

Multi-layered eggs have been observed to occasionally occur in extant amniotes as a consequence of a stress period during its formation. The multi-layered condition has previously been described in several megaloolithid eggshells from the end-Cretaceous of Europe (South Pyrenees and Southern France), an oofamily typically associated with titanosaur...

Turtle shells frequently exhibit anomalous osseous modifications on their surface which can sometimes compromise the survival of the organism. Nowadays, despite the large number of anomalies identified in both extant and extinct turtle shells, the etiology, as well as the pathogenesis, of the various osseous modifications remains unknown in most do...

Hylaeochelys is the only thalassochelydian turtle identified in the Cretaceous record. A single Lower Cretaceous species is known, Hylaeochelys belli, identified in United Kingdom and Germany and defined in the first half of the 19th century. Less than a decade ago, the presence of Hylaeochelys in the Upper Jurassic was recognized through the find...

The Lo Hueco fossil site (Cuenca, Spain) is one of the most relevant localities for the study of Late Cretaceous continental vertebrate faunas from Europe. The fossil record of theropod dinosaurs from this locality is represented by scarce isolated postcranial materials that were preliminarily attributed to abelisaurids and to a possible giant bird...

The osteology of Pilmatueia faundezi Coria, Windholz, Ortega & Currie, 2019, a dicraeosaurid sauropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Patagonia, is reassessed from the perspective of a new specimen (MLL-Pv-010) that provides additional information on the axial skeleton and the pectoral girdle. The specimen MLL-Pv-010 is composed of three articulated a...

La aparente similitud entre las técnicas de extracción, así como el estudio de materiales pretéritos, parece que es lo que ha marcado la unidad del Patrimonio Paleontológico y Arqueológico en la normativa cultural. Sin embargo, debemos tener en cuenta las diferencias entre ellos y que su unidad en la legislación puede provocar una indefensión legal...

Las intervenciones paleontológicas realizadas desde 2016 en el yacimiento del Cenomaniense medio-superior de Algora (Guadalajara, España) han aportado abundante material asignado a Crocodyliformes, que resulta relevante teniendo en cuenta la escasez de restos de este linaje en la base del Cretácico Superior de Europa. A pesar de corresponder a elem...

Species occurrence data (i.e., a group of georeferenced coordinates where each entry corresponds to an observation of an individual) is an important cornerstone for palaeobiodiversity analyses. In the fossil record, these correspond to the locations where fossil specimens were found and are usually included in technical literature. This data is thu...