#protathlitis

Got five Baryonychine Spinosaurs to get through today, so I used a base to get through it a little faster because I was really aching to get to the Spinosaurus at this point and these remaining five basically look identical. But I gave em all patterns of ~various quality~ that way they each still get a little love. Because here at saffronsdinosaurart we don't leave anyones favorites dinosaur behind. No matter how obscure they are. Or how ugly I accidentally made their patterns... sorry Camerillasaurus fans. It was the last one I did and I just got real bored with the basic patterns by the end.

That's the base

Hi there,

(Tail vertebrae of Protathlitis cinctorrensis, from Santos-Cubedo et al., 2023)

Meaning of name: Protathlitis = champion [in Greek, referencing the centenary of the Villarreal football club, which won the UEFA Europa League in 2021]; cinctorrensis = from Cinctorres

Age: Early Cretaceous (Barremian), about 126–127 million years ago

Where found: Arcillas de Morella Formation, Valencian Community, Spain

How much is known: An upper jaw fragment and five tail vertebrae of one individual, as well as an isolated tooth.

Notes: Protathlitis was a spinosaurid, a group of large theropods with specializations for feeding in aquatic habitats. Along with Vallibonavenatrix and Camarillasaurus, which are also from Spain, Iberospinus from Portugal, and Baryonyx, Ceratosuchops, and Riparovenator from England, Protathlitis adds to the growing understanding that spinosaurids were highly diverse in western Europe during the Early Cretaceous.

bye gran pulse