In search of more dinosaur remains in Igea

This is the sixth paleontological excavation in the municipality of Linares, which normally takes place at the beginning of July and this time it is brought forward a few days.

The numerous researchers and fans of dinosaur paleontology from different parts of Spain who make up the Garras team will concentrate on those days as they have been doing since 2018.

With footwear and clothing that allows them to work the long days outdoors with some comfort and withstand the high temperatures, they have the goal of recovering more pieces of both dinosaur fossils and other animals and plants to add to those already found.

The Garras team acted in the Virgen del Villar-2 field in the previous two years. In 2022, a relatively complete skeleton of a large spinosaurid named “Villar” was recovered. This discovery was considered the most important paleontological discovery in the history of La Rioja and one of the most relevant at the state level, as they explain.

In the 2023 campaign, they removed new bone elements that completed the spinosaurid material, including vertebrae, phalanges of the foot and hand, bones of the limbs and skull.

The goal for this year 2024 is to continue recovering more bone material that will help to further complete the already complete Riojan spinosaurus.

With the elements collected in 2022 and 2023, they assure that “the spinosaurid “Villar” is not only the most complete in the Iberian Peninsula, but in Europe, equaling and even surpassing the mythical English holotype Baryonyx walkeri.” These discoveries put the focus on the important paleontological potential of the region and its international relevance for the knowledge of spinosaurid dinosaurs, highlight those responsible for the campaign.

For this year there are several new developments in the form of research collaborations since specialists in paleobotany and geology will attend. The paleobotanical studies, which will be carried out by Dr. Antonio Hernández, will consist of the search for plant remains, pollens and spores within the site and adjacent areas, which will allow us to know the plant richness of this area during the Early Cretaceous and its evolutionary and paleoenvironmental significance. On the other hand, Dr. Mikel López Horgue (professor at the University of the Basque Country) will develop stratigraphy and sedimentology studies in the Igean deposits, explains the Garras team.

This year, the excavation will have as its “sponsor” Nahúm Méndez, geologist, popularizer, author of several books and regular collaborator of the scientific dissemination program Órbita Laica.

The campaign has the relevant authorization and subsidy from the General Directorate of Culture of the Government of La Rioja and the City Council of Igea and will be carried out by the Garras team, made up of researchers and paleontology enthusiasts from the Paleontological Interpretation Center of La Rioja in Igea, the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the University of Cantabria (UC). The directors of the excavation are Xabier Pereda, Pachi Sáez-Benito, Erik Isasmendi, Adrián Páramo.

Paleontological potential

The discoveries made in recent years reveal the enormous paleontological potential of this area of ​​La Rioja, making it a reference destination for scientific tourism and ecotourism. The presentation of these findings at a national and international level will generate great media and scientific attention, which will increase the visibility and tourist attraction of La Rioja. In summary, La Rioja, with discoveries like the current one, can position itself as a first-rate tourist destination for paleontological and scientific tourism, with a very positive impact on the perception and development of the region’s tourism sector, in addition to favoring the diversification of La Rioja’s tourist offer, highlights the Garras team.