Rafael Sánchez Fenollosa

Stories

Diplodocus fossils found in Spain, first outside North America

As of September 2026: Lead researcher on the La Tejería Diplodocus study

For a century and a half, every Diplodocus skeleton on Earth came from one geological formation in the western United States. On September 15, paleontologists announced the first exception: 14 tail vertebrae from a quarry at La Tejería near El Castellar in eastern Spain, dated to roughly 150 million years ago. That places the most famous long-necked dinosaur in Europe for the first time.

Updated Sep 18

Notable Quotes

This interpretation is supported not only by the fossil record but also by geological evidence.

from Diplodocus fossils found in Spain, first outside North America · Updated Sep 18

This discovery reminds us that even for such iconic dinosaurs, there are still many unanswered questions about their evolutionary history and biogeography.

from Diplodocus fossils found in Spain, first outside North America · Updated Sep 18