Gideonmantellia

Gideonmantellia was a small, fleet-footed herbivorous dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Teruel, Spain. Discovered in the freshwater deposits of the Camarillas Formation, the fossil material consists of a partial postcranial skeleton from an immature individual, including vertebrae, pelvic bones, and parts of the hindlimb. With an estimated adult length of roughly two metres and weighing only about ten to twenty kilograms, Gideonmantellia was built for agility. Its elongate lower leg bones indicate that speed was its primary defense against local theropod predators. Morphological studies place Gideonmantellia near the base of the ornithopod lineage, outside the clade that leads to larger iguanodontians and hadrosaurs. By honouring pioneering palaeontologist Gideon Mantell in its generic name, this graceful European runner highlights the ongoing legacy of early dinosaur science.

It was named in honour of Gideon Mantell, the English doctor who discovered Iguanodon in the 1820s.

Where and when

Gideonmantellia lived in the Early Cretaceous, from 130 to 125 million years ago (Barremian age). Its remains come from Spain, in the Camarillas Formation.

The numbers

Length 1.8 m (estimates run from 1.5 to 2 m). Mass about 14 kg. Hip height about 0.6 m. That is 1.1 human-lengths, or 0.16 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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