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Geologic formation in Portugal
The Freixial Formation is an Late Jurassic geologic formation in Central Portugal. The Formation has produced the fossils of many vertebrates,including non-avian dinosaurs. The formation is interpreted as having been deposited during the Tithonian of the Late Jurassic.
Stratigraphy & paleoenviroment
The Freixial Formation is located in the Lusitanian Basin of Central Portugal. Its considered the youngest Jurassic rocks in the region and it overlies the more well known Lourinhã Formation.[2] Its paleoenviroment is interpreted as taking place in Deltaic & distal fluvial environments.[3] The formation is interpreted as taking place in the Tithonian, With the formation spanning from 150.8 to 146.5 Ma & is interpreted as 150m in thickness.[2] It had once been considered synonymous with the Assenta Member of the Lourinha Formation, but more papers treat the Freixial as a distinct unit.[2][3] In the south of the basin,it interfingers with rocks of the Lourinha Formation.[4][2]
Vertebrate paleofauna
Dinosaurs
Ornithischians
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dacentrurus | D.armatus | Skeletal remains.[5] | A large stegosaur. |
| Ankylopollexia | Indet. | Femur.[6] | An ankylopollexian similar to Camptosaurus. |
| Dracopelta | D.zbyweski | Skeletal remains.[5] | An early ankylosaur. |
| Ornithopoda indet. | Indet. | Footprints.[7] | Various large and small footprints. Smaller footprints interpreted as coming from a Dryosaurid. Larger footprints ~40 cm~ are interpreted as coming from large Camptosaurus-like dinosaurs. |
Theropods
Various theropod teeth from Freixial have been referred to the genera, Allosaurus,Torvosaurus & Ceratosaurus by Malafaia et al on the basis of cladistic and multivariate analysis.[3] According to Mateus et al 2024, a combination of both methods are strong enough to confidently assign teeth on the genus level.[8]
Sauropods
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lusotitan | L. atalaiensis | Caudal vertebrae [5] | A brachiosaurid. Material assigned to Lusotitan. |
| Diplodocinae indet. | Indet. | Variety of material [5][10] | Various remains of indeterminate diplodocines. One piece of material includes a large 150 cm femur. |
| Camarasauridae indet. | Indet. | Neural spine and partial skeletons.[5] | Remains of indeterminate camarasaurids. |
| Turiasauria indet. | Indet. | Teeth[5] | Teeth attributed to Indeterminate turiasaurians. |
Mammalia
| Genus | Species | Material | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambelodon | C. torreensis | Cranial material | A multituberculate.[2] |
References
- ^ Carvalho, Victor F.; Camilo, Bruno; Araújo, Ricardo; Castro, Lígia; Kullberg, José C.; Desmet, Hilde G. B.; Nerinckx, Ignace; Leite, Marco; Reis, Diego (2025). “Cambelodon torreensis , a new pinheirodontid multituberculate from the Upper Jurassic of western Portugal”. Papers in Palaeontology. 11 (2) e70012. Bibcode:2025PPal…11OA.R2C. doi:10.1002/spp2.70012.
- ^ a b c d e Carvalho, Victor F.; Camilo, Bruno; Araújo, Ricardo; Castro, Lígia; Kullberg, José C.; Desmet, Hilde G. B.; Nerinckx, Ignace; Leite, Marco; Reis, Diego (2025). “Cambelodon torreensis, a new pinheirodontid multituberculate from the Upper Jurassic of western Portugal”. Papers in Palaeontology. 11 (2): e70012. Bibcode:2025PPal…11OA.R2C. doi:10.1002/spp2.70012. ISSN 2056-2802.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link) - ^ a b c d e f Malafaia, Elizabete (2017). “Phylogenetic analysis, paleoenvironmental and paleobiogeographic interpretation of theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin”.
- ^ Myers, Timothy; Mateus, Octávio; Tabor, Neil; Jacobs, Louis (2012-01-01). “Palaeoclimate of the Late Jurassic of Portugal: comparison with the Western United States”. Sedimentology. 59 (6): 1695–1717. Bibcode:2012Sedim..59.1695M. doi:10.1111/J.1365-3091.2012.01322.X.
- ^ a b c d e f Mocho, Pedro (2017). “Upper Jurassic sauropod record in the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal): Geographical and lithostratigraphical distribution” (PDF).
- ^ Galton, Peter (2009). “Notes on Neocomian (Lower Cretaceous) ornithopod dinosaurs from England – Hypsilophodon, Valdosaurus, “Camptosaurus”, “Iguanodon” – and referred specimens from Romania and elsewhere”.
- ^ Malafaia, Elisabete (2017). “Tracking Late Jurassic ornithopods in the Lusitanian Basin of Portugal: Ichnotaxonomic implications” (PDF).
- ^ Burigo, André; Mateus, Octávio (2024-12-30). “Allosaurus europaeus (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) Revisited and Taxonomy of the Genus”. Diversity. 17 (1): 29. Bibcode:2024Diver..17…29B. doi:10.3390/d17010029. ISSN 1424-2818.
- ^ Malafaia, Elisabete; Mocho, Pedro; Escaso, Fernando; Ortega, Francisco (2020-01-02). “A new carcharodontosaurian theropod from the Lusitanian Basin: evidence of allosauroid sympatry in the European Late Jurassic”. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (1): e1768106. Bibcode:2020JVPal..40E8106M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1768106. ISSN 0272-4634.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link) - ^ Mocho, Pedro (2016-01-01). “Systematic review of Late Jurassic sauropods from the Museu Geológico collections (Lisboa, Portugal)”. Journal of Iberian Geology. doi:10.5209/REV_JIGE.2016.V42.N2.52177 (inactive 18 January 2026).
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2026 (link)
