Bombarral Formation

The Bombarral Formation is Late Jurassic geologic formation in Portugal. The formation has produced the remains of multiple vertebrates,including non-avian dinosaurs. It was deposited during the Tithonian of the Jurassic period.

Bombarral Formation
Stratigraphic range: Tithonian

Stratigraphy and paleoenviroment

The Bombarral Formation outcrops around Pombal, Portugal. It is considered a laterally equivalent but distinct rock sequence to the more well known Lourinhã Formation. It is interpreted as being deposited during the Tithonian of the Late Jurassic period.[1] Its Lithology is primarily represented of massive fine-grained, micaceous sandstones that are mixed with red mudstones. It is interpreted as having been formed in a floodplain ecosystem.[1]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Dinosaurs

Sauropods

Genus Species Material Notes
Brachiosauridae indet.[2] Indeterminate Postcranial material Stated to have come from a 25 m long animal.[3] From outside sources, the authors imply that the remains belong to Lusotitan.[4]
Diplodocidae indet. Indeterminate Multiple skeletal remains Multiple remains from indeterminate diplodocines.[5] Whether or not they come from one taxon or multiple is uncertain.
Turiasauria indet Indeterminate Teeth[6] Multiple teeth from indeterminate turiasaurs.

Theropods

Genus Species Material Notes
Allosaurus A. europaeus Multiple skeletal remains [1] Validity disputed,Some authors argue instead that they belong to A.fragilis.
Torvosaurus T.cf.gurneyi Teeth[7] Teeth referred to Torvosaurus on the basis of cladisitics and multivariate analysis.
Tyrannosauroidea indet. Indeterminate Teeth[8] Teeth referred to indeterminate Tyrannosauroids.

Ornithischia

Genus Species Material Notes
Dacentrurus D. armatus Skeletal remains [5] A large stegosaur.
Ankylopollexia indet. Indeterminate Teeth[9] Teeth stated to be similar to Camptosaurus.
Dryosauridae indet. Indeterminate Postcranial remains[9] Remains stated to be similar to Dryosaurus.


References

  1. ^ a b c Malafaia, Elisabete; Dantas, Pedro; Escaso, Fernando; Mocho, Pedro; Ortega, Francisco (2025-05-01). "Cranial osteology of a new specimen of Allosaurus Marsh, 1877 (Theropoda: Allosauridae) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal and a specimen-level phylogenetic analysis of Allosaurus". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 204 (1). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf029. ISSN 0024-4082.
  2. ^ Mocho, Pedro (2025). "Walking with giant dinosaurs: new brachiosaurid fossil sites from the Upper Jurassic of Pombal (Portugal)" (PDF).
  3. ^ Mocho, Pedro (2023). "The giant sauropod dinosaurs of Pombal: new discoveries".
  4. ^ Malafaia, Elizabete (2025). "How Dinosaurs Crossed The Ocean | Walking with Dinosaurs".
  5. ^ a b [email protected], Pedro Mocho~Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and Facultad de; Paleontologí[email protected], Rafael Royo-Torres~Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/Museo Aragonés de; [email protected], Fernando Escaso~Facultad de Ciencias and Sociedade de História; Ciê[email protected], Elisabete Malafaia~Universidade de Lisboa and Museu Nacional de História Natural e da; [email protected], Carlos de Miguel Chaves~Facultad de; [email protected], Iván Narváez~Facultad de; [email protected], Adán Pérez-García~Facultad de Ciencias and Sociedade de História; [email protected], Nuno Pimentel~Universidade de; [email protected], Bruno C. Silva~Sociedade de História (2017-06-15). "Upper Jurassic sauropod record in the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal): Geographical and lithostratigraphical distribution". Palaeontologia Electronica. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  6. ^ Saleiro, André; Tschopp, Emanuel (January 2025). "New sauropod teeth from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal and their implications for sauropod dental evolution". Papers in Palaeontology. 11 (1). doi:10.1002/spp2.70001. ISSN 2056-2799. Archived from the original on 2025-06-22.
  7. ^ Mocho, Pedro (2024). "Taxonomic and stratigraphic update of the material historically attributed to Megalosaurus from Portugal - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica". www.app.pan.pl. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  8. ^ Malafaia, Elisabete; Escaso, Fernando; Mocho, Pedro; Serrano-Martínez, Alejandro; Torices, Angelica; Cachão, Mário; Ortega, Francisco (2017-06-01). "Analysis of diversity, stratigraphic and geographical distribution of isolated theropod teeth from the Upper Jurassic of the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal". Journal of Iberian Geology. 43 (2): 257–291. doi:10.1007/s41513-017-0021-7. ISSN 1886-7995.
  9. ^ a b Malafaia, Elisabete. "(PDF) Vertebrate fauna at the Allosaurus fossil-site of Andrés (Upper Jurassic), Pombal, Portugal". ResearchGate. Archived from the original on 2024-07-27. Retrieved 2026-02-14.