Pronunciation: deh-MAHN-dah-SOR-us
Meaning: Sierra de la Demanda lizard
Author/s: Fernández-Baldor et al. (2010)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Burgos, Spain
Discovery Chart Position: #746
Demandasaurus darwini
(Darwin's Sierra de la Demanda lizard)Etymology
Demandasaurus is derived from "Demanda" (in reference to the Sierra de la Demanda, the mountain chain where the type specimen was
found) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The species epithet, darwini, honours famous naturalist Charles R. Darwin.
Discovery
The first remains of Demandasaurus were discovered in the Upper section of the Castrillo de la Reina Formation at “Tenadas de los Vallejos II” quarry,
10 km southwest of the town of Salas de los Infantes, Burgos Province, northern Spain, by the Archaeological-Palaeontological Group of Salas de los Infantes, in 1999. An area some 240m square was excavated between 2002 and 2004 and yielded approximately 810 skeletal elements and bone fragments presumed to be from a single individual.
The holotype (MDS-RVII + specifier) includes two upper jaw bones, a lower jaw bone, six teeth, three neck vertebrae and five ribs, two back vertebrae and nine ribs, nineteen tail vertebrae and nine chevrons, two pelvic bones and a left thigh.
