The Lourinhã Formation is on the western coast of Portugal and dates back 150 million years ago to the Late Jurassic Period (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian). The fossils found here are similar to those found in the Morrison Formation in the central United States and to those found in the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania. It is believed to have once been a coastal environment.
A wide variety of dinosaur species have been found as well as fossilized eggs, tracks, insects and mammal specimens. Stegosaurs, fish, sauropods, turtles, pterosaurs, ornithopods, amphibians, fish, ankylosaurs and theropods are just a few noted species. Lourinhã Formation has the oldest known sauropod and theropod nest with embryos.
The largest known ornithopod from Portugal is the camptosaurid Draconyx loureiroi. However, most Portugal ornithopods are relatively small.
Ornithopods were bipedal (two-legged) herbivores that were abundant during the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Their beaks were used for cropping vegetation and the battery of molar-like teeth ground up the fibers. Ornithopods ranged from 2 feet long to over 30 feet long.
Type: Ornithopod Vertebra
Age: Late Jurassic (150 million years ago)
Formation: Lourinhã Formation
Locality: Lourinhã, Portugal
Size: 2.75 x 2.25 x 2.44 inches
Weight: 14.05 oz.