科学家发现北美以外首具梁龙化石

研究人员在西班牙特鲁埃尔省埃尔卡斯特拉尔的拉特赫里亚遗址发现了有史以来第一具北美以外的梁龙化石1。这具蜥脚类恐龙化石距今约1.5亿年，身长约25米1。该发现将在2026年发表于《脊椎动物古生物学杂志》，由特鲁埃尔古生物学联合会基金会的博士生塞尔希奥·桑切斯·费诺洛萨领导研究1。

出土的化石包括14块保存完好的尾椎骨以及多块棘突骨1。其中尾骨下方的深纵沟、分叉棘突骨的独特内侧凹陷、以及椎体的细长无侧棱等特征与已知梁龙属相匹配1，特别与梁龙哈洛鲁姆种为近亲1。这一发现表明，在侏罗纪晚期，梁龙曾通过原大西洋上的临时陆桥在北美和欧洲之间迁移1。

Researchers have identified the first diplodocus fossil ever discovered outside North America, uncovered at the La Tetheria site in El Castellar, Teruel Province, Spain 1. The sauropod specimen dates back approximately 150 million years to the Late Jurassic period 1. The fossilized remains stretch roughly 25 meters in length and include 14 well-preserved tail vertebrae along with multiple neural spines 1.

The discovery was made by a research team from the Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis, with Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa, a doctoral student in biodiversity and evolutionary biology, serving as lead author 1. Analysis of the specimen's distinctive anatomical features—including large pneumatic cavities, deep longitudinal grooves beneath the tail bones, bifurcated neural spines with unique medial concavities, and elongated vertebrae lacking lateral ridges—indicates the Spanish diplodocus is a close relative of Diplodocus hallorum, a species known from North America 1. The findings, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology in 2026, suggest that diplodosaurs migrated between North America and Europe during the Late Jurassic via temporary land bridges spanning the proto-Atlantic Ocean 1.