New dinosaur sites correlated with Upper Maastrichtian pelagic deposits inthe Spanish Pyrenees: implications for the dinosaur extinction pattern in Europe

Six new dinosaurs sites have been found close to the Cretaceous/Tertiary bo undary in Aren (south-central Pyrenees, Huesca, Spain) in coastal and non-m arine deposits of the Aren and Tremp Formations. The sites contain articula ted remains (skull elements, vertebrae, hind-limb bones) and isolated teeth and bones of hadrosaurids, three types of theropod teeth, one sauropod, at least seven types of eggshells (six ornithoid types and one Megaloolithida e probably from a sauropod), remains of other vertebrates, and four charoph yte species. The fossil-bearing rocks have been correlated with marine sedi ments containing planktonic foraminifera from the uppermost Maastrichtian A bathomphalus mayaroensis Biozone. These rich and diversified dinosaur assem blages enable more accurate dating of the faunal changes that took place du ring the Maastrichtian in Europe and support the hypothesis of a sudden din osaur extinction at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. (C) 2001 Academic Pre ss.