Pronunciation: ob-LEE-tow-SOR-us
Meaning: Forgotten lizard
Author/s: Sánchez-Fenollosa et al. (2023)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Teruel, Spain
Discovery Chart Position: #1097
Oblitosaurus bunnueli
(Banuel's Forgotten Lizard)Etymology
Oblitosaurus is derived from the Latin "oblitus" (forgottten) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard), because its bones were the last from the Barrihonda-El Humero fossil site to be studied.The species epithet, bunnueli, honours the famous Spanish director Luis Buñuel, known for his surreal and groundbreaking films, who was born in the province of Teruel where the fossils were found and currently reside. Funnily enough, one of Buñuel's best known films, the 1950 teen crime drama "Los Olvidados" (known in the United States as "The Young and the Damned") means "the forgotten ones" in Spanish.
Discovery
The remains of Oblitosaurus were discovered in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation at Barrihonda-El Humero, Riodeva municipality, Teruel province, Aragón, Spain.
The holotype is a tooth from the upper jaw (CPT-1440) and a thumb (CPT-1444) that were collected in 2005, and an almost complete left hindlimb (MAP-8290—8299) that was found 12 m away and excavated in 2009.
Large footprints from the same area may also belong to Oblitosaurus.
