Paleontologists have found the best-preserved stegosaur skull ever discovered in Europe at a site in Riodeva, Spain. The fossil belongs to Dacentrurus armatus and dates to the Late Jurassic period around 150 million years ago.
Researchers from the Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis identified the specimen during excavations at the Están de Colón site in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation. The skull offers rare anatomical details because such fossils are usually too fragile to survive intact over millions of years. Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa, a researcher at the foundation and co-author of the study, said the discovery reveals previously unknown aspects of Dacentrurus armatus anatomy and helps explain how stegosaurian skulls evolved.