Fossils Unearthed in Spain Reveal Synorerpeton ribagorzana
Scientists working in Spain have identified a 66-million-year-old amphibian species named Synorerpeton ribagorzana from more than 80 tiny bones originally discovered during the 1990s, CNN Portugal reported. Researchers from Portuguese and Spanish institutions announced the find through the NOVA School of Science and Technology (NOVA FCT) of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, placing the extinct creature right before the asteroid impact that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs.
Bones Found in Ribagorça Reveal Ancient Anatomy
The fossil collection includes isolated skull elements, vertebrae, and other skeletal remains recovered from Areny in Huesca, within the Spanish autonomous community of Aragón. According to the research published in the scientific journal Cretaceous Research, these animals belonged to the albanerpetontids, a mysterious group of extinct lissamphibians. They measured less than five centimeters in length, possessing dry and scaly skin, eyelids, keratin-like claws, and a projectile tongue used for quick prey capture akin to modern chameleons.
Alexandre Guillaume, a researcher at the GEOBIOTEC research center’s pole at NOVA FCT who led the study, noted that paleontologists had previously found numerous tiny albanerpetontid fossils across Europe without managing to describe a specific species until now. The remains show these creatures shifted from slender body shapes to heavier forms toward the end of the Cretaceous period. The Ribagorça area where the team collected the bones in 1997 is exceptionally rich in vertebrate fossils, situated immediately below the Cretaceous-Paleogene geological boundary.
Two Distinct Albanerpetontids Lineages Identified in Europe
The research team uncovered evidence pointing toward two distinct albanerpetontids lineages operating in Europe during the late Cretaceous. Alexandre Guillaume stated that while data on Central Asia remains sparse, Western European species appear to have experienced influence from North American relatives, whereas Eastern European populations likely felt ties to Asian species or older European stocks.
In recent years, researchers have described two new dinosaur species and two crocodile species from the same locality. The name Synorerpeton derives from ancient Greek meaning the animal that rasteja na fronteira—rendered in the study as the animal that creeps on the border—functioning as a double wordplay alluding both to the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary and the political division between Aragón and Catalonia where the fossils turned up. The specific epithet ribagorzana honors the Ribagorça region and the Noguera Ribagorzana river.
What Remains Unknown About Late Cretaceous Amphibians
Despite the identification of Synorerpeton ribagorzana, researchers acknowledge that significant gaps persist regarding the broader ecological dynamics of albanerpetontids and their exact migration routes across ancient continents. The fragility of their diminutive bones continues to hinder recovery efforts across other fossil-bearing strata, leaving questions about how widely distributed these two distinct European lineages truly were before the mass extinction event.
